Seneca Resources Supports Young Farmers and Food Banks through the “Bid. Buy. Donate.” Program

In the Appalachian Mountains of northwest Pennsylvania, Trey Miller receives the typical kind of mail you’d expect someone who manages partner relations for a national gas company to get. But, tucked in between all of the usual envelopes is an unassuming piece of mail that makes Trey’s day: a personal letter from a young 4-H farmer asking Seneca Resources to bid on their market animal at a county fair livestock auction.

Those letters, once seen simply as part of a cherished community tradition, are now tied to something much larger. Through Feeding Pennsylvania’s “Bid. Buy. Donate.” program, Seneca Resources has turned its long-standing support of junior farmers into a source of high-quality protein for local families experiencing food insecurity. By purchasing animals at 4-H auctions and donating them to local food banks, they supplied more than 2,000 pounds of meat to pantries across northwest Pennsylvania while continuing to invest in the next generation of farmers and strengthen rural communities.

Miller and his team at Seneca Resources, the exploration and production segment of National Fuel Gas Company, receive dozens of letters each year from junior farmers asking the company to support them by purchasing their market animal at an upcoming livestock auction. When a young farmer sells their animal at an auction, they receive the funds from that sale and often put it towards covering the costs of raising the animal, educational pursuits, and other aspirational endeavors. Though an unlikely pairing, Seneca Resources has been supporting young 4-H farmers at county fair livestock auctions throughout their twelve-county territory for years.

“We’ll get letters in the mail to our offices throughout the year from youth in different areas throughout our operations. We hang on to those,” says Miller. “[The letters] aren’t things that we look at and push [aside]; we actually take those with us [to auctions].”

The consideration process regarding which animals Seneca Resources will bid on is nothing less than strategic. A company that prioritizes “community” as a core value, Seneca Resources actively designates resources to help support the residents and bolster the economies of their operating territory. Miller and his team will even identify the farmer’s specific town to ensure the company’s funds are directed to the communities where Seneca Resources operations are most prominent.

Until early this year, Miller wasn’t aware that Seneca Resources could continue to support local junior farmers at county fair livestock auctions while making an even bigger mark on communities throughout northwest PA. The “Bid. Buy. Donate.” program allows bidders at junior livestock auctions to not only buy an animal and provide funds to the showman, but it also allows bidders to donate the animal to a local food bank or pantry. Additionally, the cost of processing the animal is covered by funds from the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS), a program designed to support both PA’s agricultural producers and our charitable food system.

“Protein is one of the costliest foods to source and it is rarely donated,” notes Erica Mowrer, Senior Agriculture Acquisition Manager at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. “The ‘Bid. Buy. Donate.’ program is ideal for pantries, as the burden of the cost of processing is not on the pantry and there is no charge to the pantries for the protein.”

While not all Pennsylvania county fairs participate in the “Bid. Buy. Donate” program, many fairs that the Seneca Resources team attends participated in the program for the first time this summer.

“[We learned] that, this year, [the ‘Bid. Buy. Donate.’ program] was going to be more widely available in our operating area and the 4-H livestock auctions that we already support. It’s a win all the way around for a lot of different people. [The ‘Bid. Buy. Donate.’ program] feeds our neighbors and the communities we live in and provides [them] nutrition and protein. In addition, we’re already supporting the 4-H livestock auction and the youth every year. Participating in the [‘Bid. Buy. Donate.’] program is a win all the way around, and it’s an easy way to make an impact,” Miller remarks.

Businesses like Seneca Resources are, in part, responsible for the existence of the “Bid. Buy. Donate” program. For years, buyers from businesses had been supporting local youth farmers at the Manheim Community Farm Show’s 4-H livestock sale and then donating their purchases to the Manheim Food Pantry. Through this donation model, either the buyer or the pantry was responsible for the meat processing costs. As this option became more popular, the Manheim Community Farm Show contacted the Central PA Food Bank to see if they could help offset these processing costs. Not only was the food bank able to utilize PASS funding to cover processing costs, but it also coordinated the processing, transportation and delivery of the protein back to the Manheim Food Pantry, keeping the donated protein in the same area where it was raised and donated.

After this program model was established at the Manheim Community Farm Show, other communities and food banks began to integrate a “Bid. Buy. Donate.” option into their existing 4-H livestock auctions.

“Our buyers have shown overwhelming support for the program over the years,” remarks Amanda Kanouff, Director of the Jefferson County 4-H Livestock Program. “It’s a great option for our buyers,” especially corporate buyers like Seneca Resources, “who don’t necessarily intend to keep the animal they purchased to support one of our young showmen.”

This support for “Bid. Buy. Donate.” continues to steadily increase, which is encouraging more communities to include this charitable option in their junior livestock auctions. In the past three years alone, the number of Pennsylvania fairs featuring “Bid. Buy. Donate.” has increased by 114 percent.  “Bid. Buy. Donate.” was supported at thirty fairs this year, benefiting five Feeding Pennsylvania member food banks that serve fifty-five counties. This increase is due, in no small part, to companies like Seneca Resources.

“The generous donations from Seneca Resources through the ‘Bid. Buy. Donate.’ program aided in our program growth,” states Meadow Thompson, Produce & Agriculture Coordinator at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest PA. “Along with other donors, we were able to grow the program by 200% year-over-year!”

Seneca Resources purchased animals through the “Bid. Buy. Donate.” option at the 2025 Pennsylvania Farm Show and the Tioga, Lycoming, McKean and Jefferson County Fairs. In total, Seneca Resources donated thirty-one animals to PA food banks. The estimated 2,150 pounds of meat from these donations will supply over 1,700 high-quality, high-protein meals to Pennsylvanians facing hunger.

Supporting Pennsylvania food banks through the “Bid. Buy. Donate.” program is just one of many ways that Seneca Resources takes action against hunger in the Commonwealth. Mowrer and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank have partnered with Seneca Resources through a number of different programs to create positive change for their neighbors experiencing food insecurity.

“Seneca Resources has been a true leader in combatting food insecurity throughout our territory for many years,” Mowrer states, describing team members as, “true champions for the charitable food system.”

Miller elaborated on a few of the ways that Seneca Resources has gotten involved in the movement to end hunger, stating, “We’ve worked with the Fill a Glass with Hope® [charitable milk program]. We’ve worked with Hunters Sharing the Harvest. We [organize] food drives. We have contributed upgrades to facilities, [including] refrigerators, to a couple of different food pantries this year. [The ‘Bid. Buy. Donate.’ program] is another way to add to our existing philosophy [that] community is a core value of the company.”

The support that Seneca Resources provides to communities, especially rural ones, is greatly needed. Across the country, rural counties disproportionately experience high levels of food insecurity compared to urban areas. This is true in Pennsylvania, which sees high levels of food insecurity across our rural counties, many of which are within Seneca Resources’ operating territory. Despite earning income to support themselves and their families, many neighbors still face challenges making ends meet because their wages do not cover the rising costs of living for all household members, including food, housing, utilities, health care, childcare and more. Additionally, people in rural communities also often face unique challenges like limited food resources and transportation.

“It truly takes a community to feed a community,” says Feeding Pennsylvania’s Director of Public Affairs, Lauren Duff. “With the rise in food insecurity we are seeing across Pennsylvania, support from the community and our corporate partners are a critical link in the chain to ensure that our neighbors can access the nutritious food they need to thrive.”

Miller believes that supporting the “Bid. Buy. Donate” program “exemplifies the company’s core value of Community. By actively engaging with local partners and contributing resources, we’re making a lasting impact in the communities where our employees live and raise their families.”  Seneca Resources has always felt a deep responsibility for the well-being of the communities it operates in. By supporting young farmers through 4-H auctions for years, the company was already contributing to local agricultural economies, but the additional donations of over 2,000 pounds of much needed high-quality protein through the “Bid. Buy. Donate.” program bolsters these communities even more.

Just last week, Miller received yet another letter. This time, it wasn’t from a junior farmer asking his company to consider buying their animal at an upcoming livestock auction; it was from an anonymous community member thanking Seneca Resources for their steadfast support of their local 4-H program over the years. Even this anonymous author recognizes the incredible impact Seneca Resources is having on their community. They wrote, “Your participation in the “Bid. Buy. Donate.” program made your support even more special.”