Wisconsin hunters donate venison and cash to food pantry program
MADISON – Wisconsin deer hunters across the state donated a total of 7,627 deer to Wisconsin’s venison donation programs during the 2008 deer hunting seasons.
Wisconsin has a network of venison donation efforts including: Hunt for the Hungry, which operates in the Green Bay area; Target Hunger, which handles donations from the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone; and the Wisconsin Venison Donation Program, which covers all remaining areas of the state. A total of 140 meat processors representing 65 counties participated in the programs in 2008.
“This kind of generosity is appreciated by many,” said Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matt Frank. “Hunters are helping in several ways when they participate in these programs. The venison is a welcome source of high quality food for needy families and is very popular; the extra dollars hunters donate really help in funding the donation program and the extra deer harvested helps move the herd closer to healthy population numbers.”
Hunters from across the state also voluntarily donated $17,183 to partially cover the cost of processing the deer at the time they purchased their deer hunting licenses
“In nine years of operating this statewide deer donation program hunters have donated over 69,000 deer which have provided over 3.1 million pounds of ground venison,” said Laurie Fike, who coordinates the donation program for the Department of Natural Resources.
“Staff in the 55 participating counties outside of the CWD management zone, US Department of Agriculture – Wildlife Services, Lee Dudek of Hunt for the Hungry, Green Bay, and hundreds of volunteers helped to distribute the processed venison to pantries across the state all contribute to this effort,” added Fike”.
Buffalo County hunters led the donation count in 2008 with 653 deer, followed by Trempealeau County hunters who tallied the second highest total for this year at 466.
Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone
Deer donated by hunters coming from the CWD management zone of southern Wisconsin were processed through the Target Hunger Program, operated by the Southwest Wisconsin Community Action Program (SWCAP), Dodgeville, and the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Inc., Madison, with the help of DNR funding.
The 1,360 deer taken in by 17 Target Hunger participating meat processors representing 10 counties was nearly double the 2007 total and produced 61,000 pounds of ground venison for 25 area pantries in southern Wisconsin
Also helping out with Target Hunger were the state Departments of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Health and Family Services, along with community and conservation organizations and the outdoor press, who got the word out on the program.
Heroine in Getting Venison to the Needy
Michelle Friedrich of SWCAP at Dodgeville received a Special Service Award from DNR’s Bureau of Wildlife Management for helping run the non-profit Target Hunger deer donation program at the ground level.
“Without her efforts, the venison donation in the CWD Management Zone would not be a success. Over a thousand hunters took the time to donate that extra deer for their hungry neighbors because of the positive, collaborative and aggressive never say it can’t be done attitude displayed by Michelle and a small group of individuals that were able to revitalize the program,” said Eric Lobner, wildlife supervisor for DNR’s South Central Region at Fitchburg.
She wore many hats “while driving the program,” according to Lobner, whether it be willing to go to one more fundraiser, sign-up another butcher or track the thousands of CWD test results so the meat could safely be released to food pantries. She also personally worked with a local veterinarian to provide lead screening of donated meat so it could be distributed knowing it was a healthy product.
“She worked long hours both on the road attending meetings and standing on the cold-wind-blown expanse of the Barneveld registration station, helping load deer into trailers for transport to the butchers,” pointed out Lobner.
“Literally hundreds of families in the southern part of Wisconsin will be able to enjoy fresh, lean venison that has been professionally processed and provided through the efforts of Michelle and Southwest Cap,” the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin and Community Action, Inc., he added.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurie Fike, wildlife damage abatement and claims program specialist, Madison – 608-267-7974; or for Target Hunger contact Eric Lobner, regional wildlife supervisor, Fitchburg - 608-275-3474
