While the 2014 Pigfest in August was considered a big success, the impact will continue to be felt through September.

Of the more than $12,000 that was raised from the Oak Harbor event, $6,000 was donated to the North Whidbey Help House.

Jean Wieman, executive director of the Help House, couldn’t overstate Wednesday how important such a donation meant to her organization at this time of year.

“People forget that people are hungry 365 days a year, not just during the holidays, and people are busy during the summer,” Wieman said. “This is really an optimum time for us to get a donation of this size.

“We’re seeing, on average, 574 families is what we’re feeding. The money we get today hopefully will pay most, if not maybe all, of the costs of food we have to purchase for the month.”

Pigfest was started seven years ago by Oak Harbor restaurant owner Scott Fraser as a gesture of gratitude and a way to give back to the community.

This year, the event changed its name and location and drew about 8,000 people to Pioneer Way, doubling the previous year’s attendance, and served a free pork meal to about 6,000 people.

While most of the event’s major costs were covered by sponsors led by Island Thrift, the ability to give money back to community organizations was aided by individual donations at the Pigfest as well as wine, beer and wristband sales.

The Pigfest also donated $3,000 apiece to two other nonprofits ­— Medical Safety Net of North Whidbey and  Citizens Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, or CADA.

Medical Safety Net raises funds to help pay for prescriptions, medical supplies, co-pays and emergency dental services for those in North Whidbey who cannot afford those needs, said Diane Brown, the organization’s treasurer.

“This check means we’re able to provide those services for these people,” Brown said.

Cynde Robinson, executive director of CADA, said a cash donation such as the one provided by Pigfest allows her organization to provide more immediate help to those who need it, whether it be for groceries, transportation or clothing.

CADA is based in Oak Harbor but serves all of Island County.

“We do get funds from the government but it often has a lot of restrictions on it,” Robinson said. “We often have needs for people coming in with emergencies that unless we have these kinds of funds that are open, we wouldn’t be able to help them with groceries or transportation or sometimes just clothes.

“Often, we get victims who come to us and they just had to flee and they don’t have except what’s on their backs.”