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Latest Georgia Headlines
Program that supplies venison to needy families kicks off this weekend
The Associated Press - LEESBURG, Ga.
As executive director of The Food Bank of Southwest Georgia, Eddie Byrd has thousands of mouths to feed.
Its feast or famine for canned vegetables, but when it comes to meats such as venison, theres never enough, he said.
Venison is very high in protein and its very lean, so its the perfect thing to give to families in need who are typically protein deficient, he said.
With the start of the deer hunting season, Georgia will be awash with venison during the next several months.
Some hunters will donate their carcasses to Hunters for the Hungry, a state program that has provided 95,000 pounds of venison for Georgias needy since 1993. Theyll be able to turn in field-dressed deer at nine locations Saturday and Sunday. Three of the sites will remain open through November.
To supplement the deer meat available from the state, Byrds food bank has formed its own program, Venison for the Hungry.
For a food bank in general, meat is the hardest product to get in the doors, he said. Its usually expensive. Its got to be frozen.
Byrd is limited by the cash generated at fund-raisers to cover the $1 per pound processing costs. With $6,000 last year, the food bank supplied about 6,000 pounds of deer burger until the money ran out.
We think if we had $24,000 to $25,000, we could easily convert that to venison, he said. Theres a lot of deer to be bagged in southwest Georgia.
This year, hes raised only $4,000, so there may be even less meat than last year.
Were a continuing victim of the lackluster economy, Im afraid, Byrd said.
The food bank supplies agencies that feed needy people in 20 southwestern Georgia counties, where about one-fourth of the population _ or about 115,000 people _ live below the poverty line.
Theres never enough meat, Byrd said.
Were more able to provide the canned food, canned vegetables, hygiene products like toilet paper and paper towels and ... drinks, he said. But you just dont see meat walking through the door.
Many states sponsor Hunters for the Hungry programs.
Since 1989, these loosely knit organizations have encouraged hunters and meat processors to team up to feed needy people. They have distributed hundreds of thousands of pounds of meat to homeless shelters, soup kitchens and food banks.
Georgia hunters killed 410,000 deer last year and the states Hunters for the Hungry program supplied 818 deer, or about 19,701 pounds of venison. Much of the meat is processed by inmate butchers at a state prison food distribution plant in Milledgeville, some by private processors.
Sponsors include the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division, the Georgia Wildlife Federation, the Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Outdoor News and the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
Participating hunters get a T-shirt and a chance to win a rifle.
Georgia has 300,000 registered deer hunters who can bag deers with bows and arrows, muzzleloaders or modern firearms. The archery season started Sept. 13, and the season for modern guns, Oct. 18. The season ends Jan. 1 in north Georgia and Jan. 11 in south Georgia.
With Georgias 12-deer bag limit, some hunters quickly fill their home freezers.
For the average family, one or two deer will hold you for quite a few months, said DNR spokeswoman Melissa Cummings. Most people I know who are hunters just want to be out in the woods. This way, you can go out and have a great day and then share your harvest with folks who need it.
Travis Branch, owner of Branch Taxidermy and Deer Processing in Leesburg, north of Albany, will accept field-dressed deer for Hunters for the Hungry throughout November. He also processes deer for Venison for the Hungry.
His USDA approved processing plant makes smoked deer sausage, pepperoni, salami and cube steak for the public. He makes deer burger for the state and the Albany food bank.
It goes to a good cause, helping the needy, Branch said.
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Latest Georgia Headlines
Program that supplies venison to needy families kicks off this weekend
The Associated Press - LEESBURG, Ga.
As executive director of The Food Bank of Southwest Georgia, Eddie Byrd has thousands of mouths to feed.
Its feast or famine for canned vegetables, but when it comes to meats such as venison, theres never enough, he said.
Venison is very high in protein and its very lean, so its the perfect thing to give to families in need who are typically protein deficient, he said.
With the start of the deer hunting season, Georgia will be awash with venison during the next several months.
Some hunters will donate their carcasses to Hunters for the Hungry, a state program that has provided 95,000 pounds of venison for Georgias needy since 1993. Theyll be able to turn in field-dressed deer at nine locations Saturday and Sunday. Three of the sites will remain open through November.
To supplement the deer meat available from the state, Byrds food bank has formed its own program, Venison for the Hungry.
For a food bank in general, meat is the hardest product to get in the doors, he said. Its usually expensive. Its got to be frozen.
Byrd is limited by the cash generated at fund-raisers to cover the $1 per pound processing costs. With $6,000 last year, the food bank supplied about 6,000 pounds of deer burger until the money ran out.
We think if we had $24,000 to $25,000, we could easily convert that to venison, he said. Theres a lot of deer to be bagged in southwest Georgia.
This year, hes raised only $4,000, so there may be even less meat than last year.
Were a continuing victim of the lackluster economy, Im afraid, Byrd said.
The food bank supplies agencies that feed needy people in 20 southwestern Georgia counties, where about one-fourth of the population _ or about 115,000 people _ live below the poverty line.
Theres never enough meat, Byrd said.
Were more able to provide the canned food, canned vegetables, hygiene products like toilet paper and paper towels and ... drinks, he said. But you just dont see meat walking through the door.
Many states sponsor Hunters for the Hungry programs.
Since 1989, these loosely knit organizations have encouraged hunters and meat processors to team up to feed needy people. They have distributed hundreds of thousands of pounds of meat to homeless shelters, soup kitchens and food banks.
Georgia hunters killed 410,000 deer last year and the states Hunters for the Hungry program supplied 818 deer, or about 19,701 pounds of venison. Much of the meat is processed by inmate butchers at a state prison food distribution plant in Milledgeville, some by private processors.
Sponsors include the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division, the Georgia Wildlife Federation, the Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Outdoor News and the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
Participating hunters get a T-shirt and a chance to win a rifle.
Georgia has 300,000 registered deer hunters who can bag deers with bows and arrows, muzzleloaders or modern firearms. The archery season started Sept. 13, and the season for modern guns, Oct. 18. The season ends Jan. 1 in north Georgia and Jan. 11 in south Georgia.
With Georgias 12-deer bag limit, some hunters quickly fill their home freezers.
For the average family, one or two deer will hold you for quite a few months, said DNR spokeswoman Melissa Cummings. Most people I know who are hunters just want to be out in the woods. This way, you can go out and have a great day and then share your harvest with folks who need it.
Travis Branch, owner of Branch Taxidermy and Deer Processing in Leesburg, north of Albany, will accept field-dressed deer for Hunters for the Hungry throughout November. He also processes deer for Venison for the Hungry.
His USDA approved processing plant makes smoked deer sausage, pepperoni, salami and cube steak for the public. He makes deer burger for the state and the Albany food bank.
It goes to a good cause, helping the needy, Branch said.
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