Hunters work with organizations to provide food for those in need
Hunters from Western Pennsylvania work with organizations throughout the area to provide meals to those in need.
Whether hunting for sport or for meat, these sportsmen do not let the fruits of their labor go to waste. That’s where Pennsylvania’s Hunters Sharing the Harvest Program comes in to help.
The venison distribution program started in 1991. The organization coordinates the processing and distribution of donated deer meat and other wild game to help area meal services keep their freezers stocked to feed those in need.
The meat donated is mostly deer, but sometimes elk is donated.
“Occasionally somebody will go out west or up north and shoot an elk and donate that, but that is rare,” said Thomas Rossman, the Butler County coordinator for Hunters Sharing the Harvest.
During a distribution Thursday, Dec. 5, the program provided 410 pounds of ground deer meat for use in upcoming meals.
“It’s a statewide program that started way back when,” Rossman said. “Last year we hit a record of almost 28,000 pounds of venison.”
The program collects the meat from hunters who have either bagged an extra deer or hunt for sport, but don’t plan to use the meat.
“When a hunter kills a deer, they can go to our website and look at the list of processors, I think we have seven in the area, and they can drop it off there and donate,” Rossman said.
The deer meat is processed into ground venison, and Hunters Sharing the Harvest will give it to one of the 40 churches it works with to be used in the meal they serve to the community, like Katie’s Kitchen in Butler.
“We’ve used Hunters Sharing the Harvest for at least the last four or five years,” said Katie’s Kitchen manager Justine Brown. “We are so blessed to be able to have access to the donation.”
At Katie’s Kitchen, Brown said the mix with regular ground beef is usually around 80/20, with the 20% of venison allowing them to stretch the meat to fulfill the needs of the community. A recent meal served at the kitchen used the mix, along with a potato skin donation from Society of St. Vincent de Paul, to create a last-minute taco dish.
“We mixed the venison with ground meat, added some taco seasoning and put it over the potato skins, and topped it with cheese and served it with garlic bread and corn,” Brown said.
The number of meals served at Katie’s Kitchen has steadily increased, especially in the last two years. The kitchen has gone from serving about 80 to 100 meals per week five years ago to an average of 304 per week.
“There is a tremendous need,” Brown said. “Butler is considered a food desert. There is limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables and very limited fresh meat.”
Brown said the problem stems from the lack of a grocery store in the area.
“Since the fire, Miller’s Meats hasn’t reopened and Save A Lot closed late in the spring, so there is really no place in the City of Butler for people who lack transportation to go. With the help of Hunters Sharing the Harvest and other donations, we get to provide them with a hot and nutritious meal,” Brown said.
The processing of the donated venison by local companies is paid for by donations, although some go out-of-pocket to help, like Bob Jesteada from Bob’s Deer Processing in Muddy Creek Township.
“Helping to end hunger, it’s something good,” Jesteada said. “I go out-of-pocket by hiring some help, but it is worth it.”
The staff at Katie’s Kitchen values the time spent by all involved.
“We’re really appreciative of all of those hunters, the processors and Hunters (the) Sharing Harvest,” Brown said. “It really helps what we can serve and how we serve it, and it really helps us to extend our budgets, too.”
Hunters Sharing the Harvest is continuing to take in donations, either in the form of deer or monetary sums. More information on the program and where to donate can be found at www.yourdeer.org.
