Eight-year-old Maggie Carroll lives to serve as she donates her pig to the Pork for Packs program.
When Maggie Carroll led her pig, Brownie, out of the show ring for the last time during her first year of showing pigs, she didn’t realize it would be the moment that taught her what the FFA motto, “Living to Serve,” really means. She cried as her mom, Holly, led Brownie away to join hundreds of other pigs being donated to Pork for Packs, a program the Oklahoma Pork Council started to combat hunger among children. However, Carroll quickly realized the importance of her donation.
“My mom pulled me aside and gently told me where Brownie was going and why,” Carroll says. “Later that year, I saw some actual pork sticks, and it hit me — these [pigs] are going to a good cause.” The realization motivated her to continue giving.
Now, nearly seven years later, Carroll, a member of the Cashion FFA Chapter in Oklahoma, continues to donate her pigs annually. What started as a tearful goodbye has grown into a statewide effort to fight hunger.
In Oklahoma, one in every four children suffers from food insecurity. First launched 12 years ago, Pork for Packs is a program that continues to combat those statistics by turning donated show pigs into pork sticks for children struggling with food insecurity. Created by the Oklahoma Pork Council in partnership with Farm Bureau, the program initially began as the Beef Battalion, a way to get beef to soldiers in need. However, once things changed globally and the number of deployed units lowered, the program shifted from beef to swine and focused on supporting local and regional food banks.
Pork for Packs is an important program to the Carroll family. Holly is the membership director at Farm Bureau and has been involved in the program since its creation, and Maggie is heavily involved in showing pigs.
Every year since Brownie was donated, the Carrolls have contributed two pigs to be processed into pork sticks for children in need. The mother-daughter duo has strong agricultural roots, since Maggie’s grandfather served as a state vice president for FFA in Kentucky, and Holly served as Kentucky’s state president.
As a family, the Carrolls try to volunteer at the food bank every other month. “It’s an incredible feeling when your family serves together,” Holly says. “We serve, and we serve together. No matter what age your kids are, they have a place, they can give back, and they can even be right beside you, living the example that you’re leading.”
Maggie with her parents as they serve together.
Additionally, Maggie attended the Oklahoma Pork Council’s first Youth Pork Advocates Day. “We were connected with people who had shown pigs and are now still in the industry,” she says. “I learned so much about the mission of the Oklahoma Pork Council and how my own efforts are actually making a difference.”
Looking ahead, Maggie and Holly have high expectations for this generation of FFA members to address hunger issues and make service a priority. “The agriculture community is the most giving community in the entire world,” Holly says. “People in agriculture are always willing to give, and that’s really where the heart of this program is.”
Maggie and Holly agree that communication is key to growing Pork for Packs further across Oklahoma and beyond. “If we can just convey this to younger generations, they can start advocating,” Maggie says. “Service shouldn’t be our last priority. It’s in everything that we do. The future lies in ‘Living to Serve,’ as the FFA motto mandates. I’m just grateful that I’ve been able to assist in addressing a problem in my community, and hopefully inspiring others to do the same.”
To the Carroll family, giving is more than an act of service; it’s a legacy to be shared through generations of FFA members. For this mother-daughter duo, living the FFA motto can happen anywhere, anytime.
