Marie Pelton and Jim Victor of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania carved the 2014 New York State Fair butter sculpture.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The 2014 New York State Fair's butter sculpture theme is "The Great American Milk Drive."

The sculpture, made with 800 pounds of salted O-At-Ka butter from Batavia, N.Y., depicts a dairy farmer dropping off fresh gallons of milk at his local food bank.

"The New York Dairy Association wanted to raise awareness that food banks across the state need more donations of milk and other dairy products for the families who need that support," said Marie Pelton, who carved the sculpture with her husband, Jim Victor.

Milk is one of the most requested items by Feeding America food bank clients, but nearly half of the nation's food banks receive fewer than 24 gallons of milk donations each week.

At the bottom of the 2014 New York State Fair butter sculpture, there's a wagon overflowing with fruits and vegetables.

Pelton and Victor hail from Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Victor has carved every NYS Fair butter sculpture since 2003, and Pelton began helping him in 2006.

The 2014 New York State Dairy Princess Casey Porter attended the butter sculpture unveiling ceremony and called this year's design "beautiful."

"I think it's so simple, yet very intricate in the meaning behind the design," said Porter, 18, of Watertown. "We're making sure we can provide milk to as many people as possible through the Great American Milk Drive."

After the fair ends, the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) will transport the butter to the Amboy Compost Site to be recycled.

The 2014 New York State Fair opens Thursday, August 21 and runs through Labor Day, Monday, September 1. The butter sculpture will be on display daily in the Dairy Building for the duration of the fair.

See butter sculptures from other state fairs across the U.S.

Check back this afternoon for a story about the butter sculptors.

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