Opposite Page - Van and Donna processing meat in ground form for the Hunter’s for the Hungry program. The meat is then distributed through the Food Outreach Co-op of Effingham County.
no cost to the hunter, “the hunters drop it off, and we process it. We donate the time and the supplies. The main out-of-pocket expense is paying the cutters. The rest is mostly time.” “Van has taught me to be more giving. His heart is getting too big for his chest,” Donna chuckles. “He is generous to a fault. He makes me want to be a better person.” Hunters for the Hungry is a large project the Horton’s have taken on, but this isn’t the extent of their generosity. The Horton’s owned a restaurant for 3 years, and they were able to do a lot for the community. “Our first year, at Thanksgiving we would open up the restaurant for anyone who wanted to eat for free. DFACS (Department of Family and Children Services) helped by passing out tickets to needy families.” The Horton Family also used to feed all of the football teams in the county before games every Friday night when the restaurant was running. The Horton’s donated all of the food to help support the local high schools. Fundraising is another avenue for the Horton Family to help people in the county. Usually, this includes helping those with cancer or families in need. “One time we stayed up for around 3 days cooking 1500 Boston butts for a fundraiser.” “There is never a dull moment around here. We always have a full house or a project going, and we like it that way.” The next project for Van is taxidermy. He is going to taxidermy school in Wisconsin in April. Horton’s Deer Processing will be a one-stop shop for processing and taxidermy. What does it take to process a deer? “It takes about 10 minutes to clean the dear, it hangs for at least 4 or 5 days before taking it out to cut up, which takes about an hour and a half, and then it takes about another 45 minutes to process it. Then the meat is vacuum packed into one-pound bags for pick-up. The longest part of processing is hanging the deer, which cures (drains) the deer. We try to turn around the deer within 7 days from the time the hunter drops it off.” Writer’s Comments: I have never really eaten deer meat before, so the Horton’s sent me home with a very large bag of meat for my family. I am amazed at this family’s generosity and willingness to give and help those around them. As soon as I got home, I held up the bag and said, you will never guess how wonderful the Horton’s are! My husband was thrilled – being a city boy, who has had very little wild game. We dove into trying the hamburger right away, and the sausage wasn’t far behind. I am thoroughly impressed with the quality and taste of the meat the Horton’s blessed us with. Our ten year old said it was the best hamburger she had ever tasted! Being with the Horton family, even for a short time, has given me a desire to help more in our community. Their giving hearts are infectious and just being around them lifts your spirits.
They pour out a desire for community well-being and family togetherness. Hundreds of families will be fed this year because of the kindness and generosity of the Horton family. The Horton family wants you to “help us help others this year. We need all the deer we can get for the project.” I encourage anyone who has the heart to serve or is even thinking about what they can do to help those less fortunate this season to give the Horton’s a call, or even better, a deer! To contact Horton’s Deer Processing: (912) 754-9791 620 Chester Thomas Rd Springfield, GA 31329
Effingham Magazine | December/January 2010-2011 21