Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry Ministry
Posted By
Hunter Kailos
at
10/19/2011 12:00:00 AM
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Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry Ministry
As hunters we are blessed each time we enter Gods outdoors. We get the opportunity to enjoy the woods come to life each morning and watch it settle down each evening. Its what makes hunting so enjoyable, to see the squirrels wake up in the morning and stretch their legs. To feel the morning thermals and see them start to move leaves in the tree tops as the morning sun shines on them. Then the evening when the days wildlife makes its last quick scamper back to hole up for the night and the woods become eerily calm. Its these details that make the hunt such a blessing, not necessarily the harvest of a deer.
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There are those in our communities who are not fortunate enough to experience these thrills and even struggle to make it by day to day. Increasingly Americans are turning to food pantries and feeding missions in order to feed their families. This is fueled primarily by high unemployment and rising costs of living. Statistics show that 1 in 5 children go to bed hungry each night, as hunters there are opportunities to help these folks out. The Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) program provides a way for hunters to give back to their communities and provide fresh, highly nutritious meat to those in need. On average one deer can provide about 200 servings. This program works by enabling hunters to drop off their legally harvested deer at participating processors, the deer is processed into packages of venison burger and distributed to local food pantries and feeding missions. Hunters are still required to legally tag the deer they donate, but there is no processing fee. The processing fee is paid for by FHFH, thus allowing hunters to simply drop off their tagged deer at the processor and FHFH takes care of the rest.
With most states holding near record levels of whitetails, there are opportunities to harvest does. One way or the other most of us have learned the importance of doe harvesting in proper deer management. Programs such as FHFH provide ways for us to utilize those does that need to be taken out of the herd to optimize deer health.
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FHFH is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation which has over 140 volunteer county coordinators across 27 states which work to promote the program, host fundraising events and most importantly ensure the donated deer are making it into the lives of those who need it most. FHFH also enables farmers and hunters to donate other game and livestock such as elk, beef, domestic hogs, and poultry. This program exists in every state in the Midwest and is likely available in your area. Here in Indiana there is a coordinator for nearly every county willing to help you make sure your donation goes to good use.I’m very proud to be a part of FHFH, we've certainly made an impact locally in my area by providing nearly 12,000lbs of venison to local food pantries and feeding missions in the last 5 years! There are other avenues for hunters to donate their harvest to those in need. Most states including Indiana have similar programs set up, some of which require you to pay the processing fee. FHFH provides the opportunity to donate your deer at no cost to the hunter, one reason why it has been so successful.
We often have the opportunity to harvest more deer than we can eat, but rest assured someone in your community would love to have the meat. It wasn’t that long ago that the hunter had one specific job in the family or community-to provide food for the table. Let us consider that this deer season, if you are able, try to take an extra deer and donate it to a family in need or to a program such as FHFH. It may be your opportunity to provide someone with that meal they may not have had otherwise. So while we are out enjoying our passion for chasing whitetails lets take the opportunity to help someone out by putting some food on their table if we get the chance and try to lessen the burden on our friends in need.
For more information about Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, to make a funding donation or to see if there is a program set up in your area please visit www.fhfh.org or call 1-866-GET-FHFH.
Lastly let us not forget to thank our Lord and Savior each time we are blessed to enjoy His wonderful outdoors this year!
God Bless,
Brady Miller
FHFH Coordinator-Greene County, Indiana
