A small group of aspiring young farmers give back to their communities by providing pork and other meats to food pantries.

The GNG 4-H Food Pantry Project is a joint venture between the pantries in Gray and New Gloucester and members of the local 4-H Club, in which meat from the animals raised by club members is donated to the pantries.

Alice McGrath works at the Gray Community Food Pantry, which serves 150 families per month, and said the arrangement between the food pantries and the 4-H Club was “fantastic,” as meat, particularly fresh pork, bacon and lamb, is one of the more expensive and difficult food groups for the pantry to provide to the families it serves. The pantry looks forward to having the 4-H members donate a large amount of meat every year, describing the donation as a “treat” for families using the food pantry.

The program began a decade ago, when a 4-H Club member from New Gloucester decided to look into the idea of having animals purchased at the 4-H auction and donating the meat. The project originally started by sending letters to area businesses to raise funds, and has grown considerably, McGrath said. Over the past decade, the 4-H Club has raised 36 pigs and 12 sheep, all of whom were eventually donated.

Beatrice Schatz, a 4-H member who serves as president of the food pantry project, said the club raises money through various endeavors, including bake sales, community fairs in both Gray and New Gloucester, and fundraisers for regional businesses. At the end of the year, club members and food pantry representatives spend the money raised at the 4-H livestock auction at the Cumberland Fair. Usually, the group buys three pigs and one lamb.

Schatz said the next major event for the 4-H Club will be the Gray Village Farmers Market, where the club has a table each week selling baked goods and accepting donations. Its dairy club will also do a fundraiser at Tractor Supply Co. in Scarborough in late May.