Combining the season of hunting and harvest with the season of giving, Utah farmers and hunters are putting out a call for venison and venison processing donations to help feed poor and low-income families.
The biggest need is for donations to help process the deer that are taken during this fall's hunt, which begins Friday, Kelly Bingham, president of the Utah Chapter of Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, said Tuesday.
"This meat comes to those in need at the perfect time of year and brightens the day of many right here in our community," said Gene Lopez, speaking for the Family Connection Center in Layton. The center received 5,000 pounds of venison from the farmers and hunters group last year. "With tighter budgets and higher costs of living being felt by everyone, they'll be especially tough on the poor this winter."
More than 60,000 Utahns and hundreds of natural disaster victims elsewhere in the country have been helped by the venison donation program, Bingham said.
Utahns Against Hunger say the program is welcome assistance at a time when one in seven families in Utah is having difficulty finding enough to eat.
"More families than ever are feeling the need to go to emergency food pantries, and most emergency food agencies across the state are experiencing double-digit increases over last year," said Steve Blackman, child nutrition advocate for the anti-hunger group. "This donation project is exactly what emergency food pantries need."
Those interested in helping pay for processing or in donating venison can calling Bingham at 801-726-2598 or can contact him at kmbingham92@msn.com. More information is available at fhfh.org and clicking on the Utah link.
E-mail: jthalman@desnews.com