• Fair to Fork program chooses one 4-H participant per county to donate.

After showing her pigs at the Lincoln County Fair, Leila Titensor was given an opportunity to give back in a huge way.

Leila’s mom, Amber Titensor, was told she had five minutes left to sign up any of her children participating in 4-H for the Fair to Fork program. Her daughter Leila was signed up and later selected for Lincoln County.

The program began by First Lady Jennie Gordon as part of her Wyoming Hunger Initiative (WHI). A secondary hog is purchased at market value by the WHI and is then processed by a USDA and state-inspected processor. The processed meat is then donated to organization of choice.

With Leila being chosen for Lincoln County, she decided to donate to the Afton Food Pantry. Leila shared that her larger pig, named “Pork” was purchased by Black Mountain Boosters and donated to the Thayne Food Bank, motivating her to spread donations of meat to other parts of Star Valley. Her secondary pig, “Heather” was processed and donated to the Afton Food Pantry. The meat totaled nearly 160 pounds, which is now being stored and distributed at the Afton Food Pantry.

“We’re just so glad someone stepped up in Lincoln County,” shared Sierra Mitchell, Afton Food Pantry President. 120 families will be given meat that was given by Leila. “Most of the families are elderly or have children,” Mitchell shared.

Leila explained some of what it takes to raise a pig for the 5-6 months she spends caring for the animals. This included daily walks, feeding, watering, and grooming. Leila’s pig, named Heather, weighed 270 pounds and had two favorite treats- marshmallows and Gatorade.

According to Amber, the pigs were “definitely raised with love.” Leila quickly added that the pigs were also “a pain in the butt.” Any livestock owner would agree.

Leila has set aside savings, investment money, and what she needs to buy more animals next year. She also discussed what she might spend the extra on- a motorbike.

To learn more about the Fair to Fork Program, visit nohungerwyo.org/fair-to-fork.