STATE’S HUNGRY THANKFUL FOR HUNTERS, DONATED VENISON

STATE’S HUNGRY THANKFUL FOR HUNTERS, DONATED VENISON

11/22/2016 MEDIA CONTACT: Travis Lau – 717-705-6541

STORY LINK       http://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/Game-Commission-Details.aspx?newsid=84

When they sit down at the dinner table on Thursday, Pennsylvania’s hunters will have plenty for which to be thankful.

It’s prime time for Pennsylvania hunting and, with any luck, some game bags or ear tags have been filled already, or are nearly about to be.

But as hunters are giving thanks, they should know also they’re in a prime position to receive thanks for what they might choose to give.

Each year, the generosity of Pennsylvania’s hunters results in about 200,000 meals for the state’s hungry.

By donating venison through Hunters Sharing the Harvest – a program that works through a network of meat processors to channel venison donations to local food banks, soup kitchens and hungry families – hunters extend their helping hands to those in need.

And for the second straight year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and other partners are making it easy for hunters to help out. Once again this year, the Game Commission donated $20,000 to the program – money that enables Hunters Sharing the Harvest to accept venison donations without charging hunters. In prior years, hunters who donated venison needed also to pay a $15 tax-deductible fee to cover deer-processing costs. Visit Hunters Sharing The Harvest to find a participating processor.

By helping to remove the fee, the Game Commission hopes to spur additional venison donations, allowing the program to feed more people, said R. Matthew Hough, the agency’s executive director.