from the HEART
Hunters for the Hungry written by kathryn schiliro
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Could be one hungry mouth, could be many. Husband and wife; mother and father; maybe they’ve brought their child, their children. They pile in the car on a Saturday morning and make their way to the pickup location, where they are the recipients of one, highly coveted, box. They expect hot dogs, or packaged sandwich meat, maybe. The whole turkey will not come until Thanksgiving; the ham is a special Christmas treat. Upon their arrival home, the box is opened and, much to their delight, carefully placed in the bottom of the package is ground venison, provided by Georgia hunters. Established in 1993, the Georgia Hunters for the Hungry program, through the state’s Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) and the Georgia Wildlife Federation (GWF), has provided more than 1.44 million meals (equivalent to more than 250,000 pounds of venison) for Georgia residents in need. In 2009 alone, more than 30,000 pounds of venison were donated to food banks statewide. “The idea was to be able to show that hunting is about more than killing an animal. It’s about providing for families; it’s about filling a freezer, which, in these times, is lifesaving for a number of families,” says Melissa Cummings, WRD communications representative. How does the program work? Hunters bring their field-dressed deer to a participating processor: there are fifteen processors statewide accepting deer for Hunters for the Hungry through the end of the season (January 1, 2011 in the
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Northern Zone; January 15, 2011 in the Southern Zone), and the processor turns the deer to ground venison, packages the meat by the pound, and delivers it to food banks. Hunters for the Hungry works primarily with the Atlanta Community Food Bank as well as regional food banks that serve residents in need. “Our understanding from the food banks is meat is the hardest to get donated. [Deer is] a fantastic source of protein for people who need it,” says Cummings. The bulk of the program’s costs comes from paying the processors who charge a reduced fee for grinding and packaging the meat. The WRD and GWF host an annual fundraiser to be able to pay those fees so that hunters don’t have to. The program has been well-received by the state’s hunting community, according to Cummings, who says Hunters for the Hungry allows sportsmen and women to do what they love and give back at the same time. “It’s about food for their family, food for someone else, being out in the woods,” says Cummings. “The experience of being out there is just such a thrill, such a blessing, then to be able to give something back just has an extra great feeling about it.” In addition to the WRD and GWF, the state Department of Corrections and Department of Agriculture as well as the Georgia State Association of Food Banks sponsor Hunters for the Hungry. For more information, visit gohuntgeorgia. com or gwf.org. Kathryn Schiliro is the managing editor of the Morgan County Citizen.
Want to donate your kill to Hunters for the Hungry? Drop off your field-dressed deer at one of these participating processors. These processors also accept commercially processed venison for the “Drop Back a Pack” program through Georgia Hunters for the Hungry, if you would like to contribute in this way. Baldwin JJs Deer Processing 974 Georgia Highway 105 (706) 776-2819 Canton Mitch’s Archery and Deer Cooler 115 Longview Road (770) 479-7004 Irwinton Starley’s Deer Processing 190 George Hatcher Road (478) 946-8976 Jefferson Sealey’s Deer Cooler 5675 South Apple Valley Road (706) 335-9304 Milledgeville Wright’s Deer & Wild Hog Processing 126 Wright Drive NE (478) 452-4228 Sparta Garner’s Grinder 18630 Highway 16 (706) 444-9228 Stephens Fire Tower #2 Meat Processing 47 Sam Woods Road (706) 743-3766