Fairgoers heading to the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh on Thursday can skip paying for a ticket entirely — all it takes is six non-perishable food items handed over at the gates. The annual Smithfield Foods Hunger Relief Day, set for Thursday, Oct. 22, trades free admission for groceries that go straight to families struggling to put food on the table across the region.
The tradition dates back to 1993, making this year's edition more than three decades old, according to foodbankcenc.org. Since it began, the event has grown into what the food bank's website calls one of the largest single-day food drives in North Carolina, while a separate post from the same organization describes it outright as the largest single-day food drive in the state. Every item collected benefits the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and its partner agencies, as reported by CBS17.com.
The scale of the giving varies depending on which figure you look at. The food bank's event page states that fairgoers have donated over 6 million pounds of food since the drive started, while a North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services release puts the total at more than 6.8 million pounds. On the meal side, the food bank's event page cites more than 5 million meals provided to the organization and its local partners, while another post on the same food bank site describes the event as having provided more than six million meals to date.
What to Bring to the Fair Gates
The food bank is asking donors to prioritize specific items this year rather than just any canned good off the shelf. Peanut butter and jam, chicken, tuna or salmon, and ready-to-heat meals are listed as especially helpful donations, per the organization's event guidance. Visitors should also keep an eye on the clock — the fair will not admit anyone after 9:45 p.m., the same source notes.
A Region Facing Its Worst Hunger Crisis in a Generation
The timing of this year's food drive lands against a grim backdrop. More than 629,000 people are now food insecure across the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina's 34-county service area, the organization reported. That means one in seven neighbors across the region are unsure where their next meal will come from, including one in five children, according to the same report.
That figure is nearly 180,000 higher than it was at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, the food bank said. The organization, which coordinates a network of more than 700 hunger-relief programs, has described the moment bluntly: Our region is facing the worst hunger crisis in a generation, the food bank said in a blog post. Statewide, the picture tracks with that warning — 15.5% of North Carolinians are food insecure, according to WUNC.
Part of the pressure comes from shrinking federal assistance. SNAP enrollment fell 12.2% between July 2025 and April 2026, the food bank reported, even as need has climbed. The food bank's summer hunger efforts are expected to provide 150,000 meals to communities throughout central and eastern North Carolina.
For fairgoers, the exchange is simple: six cans or packages at the gate in place of a ticket price, with every donation funneled toward a food bank network stretched thinner than it has been in years. It is a small ask that adds up fast when tens of thousands of people pass through the gates over the fair's run in Raleigh.
