American Deer & Wildlife Alliance Sponsors Wisconsin’s Hunt for the Hungry
AUSTIN, Texas —-(AmmoLand.com)- The American Deer & Wildlife Alliance (ADWA) is proud to announce its sponsorship of the Hunt for the Hungry program (www.huntforthehungry.com) in Green Bay, Wis. ADWA will help pay for processing and packaging costs of venison going to families in need, and encourages other groups and individual sportsmen to support similar programs across the country with their deer or cash donations.
Many states that have seen increased donations after the state’s offered financial incentives for the venison processing. For example, Ohio hunters last year more than double the previous year’s donation total, providing venison for 220,000 meals. However, not every state is seeing the increased deer donations. The annual Hunt for the Hungry program in Green Bay, Wis., reports its deer donations are down 50 percent from last year.
“While this is not a holiday story anyone wants to hear, more people in the United States, including children, are going hungry than ever before in history, according to the recent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Household Food Security” report,” says John Meng, president of the American Deer & Wildlife Alliance. “We wanted to take a more direct approach and help promote venison donations to pantries. Processing and packaging costs can deter some hunters, especially in tough economic times, but ADWA and others are working to offset those expenses.”
The annual USDA report stated that 17 million American households — 14.6% — were “food insecure” in 2008, the highest level observed since the report was first undertaken in 1995. The numbers represent 49 million Americans, including nearly 17 million children.
“More people are coming in to get help with food this year, but the number of hunters donating venison is down,” says Lee Dude, who founded Hunt for the Hungry in 1995. “I imagine hunters are keeping deer to feed their own families and help their friends in need. We greatly appreciate ADWA’s support.”
Founded in 1995, Hunt for the Hungry processed 1,375 deer and more than 140,000 pounds of deer and wild game meat for needy families in 2008. Hunt for the Hungry is also part of the Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry network.
ADWA partners with companies and organizations within the deer and wildlife industry to promote products, services, membership benefits and overall growth of the industry through youth and public education. Serving as a ’PR engine’ for its members, ADWA combines the benefits of marketing and education to inspire credibility among consumers and unity within the industry, and ADWA now broadcasts public policy messages to millions of households via the Outdoor Channel network. ADWA is also the title sponsor of Keith Warren’s Deer & Wildlife Stories program, airing on the Pursuit Channel later this month.
To learn more about the ADWA or for membership information, visit www.deerwildlifealliance.org or call 877.331.8607. To become an ADWA fan on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/pages/American-Deer-Wildlife-Alliance.
About:
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the American Deer & Wildlife Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to the growth of the deer and wildlife industry, and to help educate consumers and the youth on the conservation issues which effect deer and wildlife as well as the industry. For more information on the American Deer & Wildlife Alliance, call 877.331.8607 or visit www.deerwildlifealliance.org.