Sportsmen donate to worthy cause
Nearly one million pounds of venison have been donated by generous sportsmen to Tennessee’s food banks and soup kitchens over the 15 years that Tennessee’s Hunters for the Hungry program has been in existence. One pound of venison equals four meals, a
Nearly one million pounds of venison have been donated by generous sportsmen to Tennessee’s food banks and soup kitchens over the 15 years that Tennessee’s Hunters for the Hungry program has been in existence. One pound of venison equals four meals, and most food banks say Hunters for the Hungry is their only reliable source of protein during the colder months.
There are two ways to help Hunters for the Hungry help the needy in your county or neighborhood. One is to give venison or other wild meat to the program — a few pounds of your deer meat or often an entire deer. The other way is to give cash to help defray the cost of processing the meat. Go to the website of the programs sponsor, Tennessee Wildlife Federation, to learn more: http://www.tnwf.org .
The program has been growing steadily but the need is virtually unlimited. This year, thanks to generous cash supporters, hunters can donate approximately 2,000 whole deer this season without paying any processing fees. Those 2,000 deer would provide nearly half a million meals to hungry Tennesseans, at no cost to the hunter. Once funding is exhausted, processors will accept donated deer at a discounted rate, typically $40, to be paid by the hunter.
The local area’s participating processors include: (Blount County) Village Meats, 1005 William Blount Drive, Maryville, phone 865-984-6626; (Anderson County) Adams Taxidermy and Processing, 102 Shipe Road, Claxton, phone 865-945-3553; (Knox County) Broken Wing Meat Processing, 3217 Riverside Drive, Knoxville, phone 865-522-6914. A complete list of participating processors and remaining funding quotas are available on the above TWF website.
• The fall turkey season was Oct. 13-26 and the harvest was about 2,700 birds of both sexes. Last year the season was also in October and the harvest was almost identical.
It appears the deer harvest this year is going well. As of Nov. 30 the total take stands at about 117,000; last year at this time it was about 110,000. This time period includes all of archery and muzzleload seasons and the first two weeks of gun season, which continues uninterrupted through Jan. 6 for adults and the following weekend for the last youth hunt.
• The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission met the end of November in Nashville for a shorter one-day meeting. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was discussed. It has been discovered on three private deer farms in Pennsylvania last October, and the counties of Adams and York have been added to Tennessee’s restrictive zones. Also, the entire state of New York had been restricted for CWD, but now only the counties of Oneida and Madison are on the list.
For a complete map of restricted states and parts of states concerning CWD, go to http://www.tnwildlife.org , choose hunting and then CWD.
Tom Wiest welcomes news, questions and comments from readers. Contact him at (wiest.tom@gmail.com)
