This news will make you glad (again) that you ate pork-chops-on-a-stick sold at County Fair

Community of Hope has announced it raised $21,000 from the sale of pork chops on a stick at this year's Winneshiek County Fair.  The money will be used to benefit local food pantries and two nutritional education projects for communities in third-world counties.

Half of the money raised will be used to purchase tools for third-world agricultural projects. Farmers from Columbia will be taught how to grow legal crops generating self-sustainability, and Guatemalan farmers, who face altitude and extreme weather conditions, will be taught how to grow vegetables in greenhouses.

"A few years ago, I came across a calendar showing Bosnian growers trying to plant crops with a land mine-detecting machine, which really pulled on my heart strings," said Julie Vulk, Community of Hope FRB representative. "I knew then that I had to help others who were less fortunate, and Community of Hope FRB does exactly that. In the past, we've helped drill wells in Jordan and taught women how to raise guinea pigs for protein in Chili."

During the fair, six Asgrow DEKALB dealers and district sales managers from Winneshiek County volunteered to make pork-on-a-stick. With three grilling and three serving on Saturday night, the team managed to make a total of 250 servings of pork-on-a-stick.

"It was great to work a 'primetime' shift during the rodeo because we saw so many people from the community," said Kelly Holthaus, Asgrow DEKALB district sales manager. "It was a hot one this year, but we still had a great turnout, and we're signed up to do it again next year."

Additionally, the other half of the donations raised will be distributed to three food pantries in Winneshiek County, helping an estimated 15 percent of rural households in Iowa that face food insecurity, according to Feeding America.