- News -
Greenville, PA – August 26, 2024 – Generous Pennsylvania hunters once again broke a record for venison donations through Hunters Sharing the Harvest (HSH) with 261,672 pounds of venison donated from 6,905 deer and six (6) elk statewide during the 2023-24 hunting seasons.
“Each year we wonder if we’ll come close to the previous year’s numbers and each year Pennsylvania hunters remind us that they’re just getting started,” said Ferguson. “Awareness of our mission continues to grow. Hunters are leading the charge with their increasing deer donations. But there’s a whole village of participating processors, financial supporters and volunteers who make sure we’re able to feed more hungry Pennsylvanians every year.”
Based on the American Heart Association’s recommended serving size of three ounces of lean red meat per serving, the 261,672 pounds of venison donated during the 2023-24 hunting season provided more than 1.3 million servings of lean, high protein venison to the food insecure in Pennsylvania.
“We’re once again excited to have reached an incredible new milestone,” said Bill Sordoni, chairman of the HSH board of directors. “Our leadership, volunteers and sponsors have all come together to support this vitally important program and we believe the impact of the HSH mission will continue to grow in the years to come.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has been a key supporting partner with HSH for many years, providing an annual allocation of state and federal hunger relief funds to help HSH defray the costs associated with reimbursing participating processors for their services.
“The generous donations of hunters stretch the dollars of cash-strapped families as well as the nonprofit network running food pantries across the state,” Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said. “The work of Hunters Sharing the Harvest stretches the state and federal dollars that support our charitable food system. We are proud to invest in feeding Pennsylvania families and in our nonprofit partners who work diligently to provide protein-rich meals to families in need.”
Pennsylvania deer hunters can harvest several deer in a year, thanks to the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s deer herd management objectives and accompanying antlerless tag allocation. HSH provides an opportunity for hunters who might typically only harvest one or two deer for their family’s consumption to fill more tags, donating additional deer as a social service to help those struggling with food insecurity in their community.
“While hunters invest considerable time and effort into every deer harvest, their generous donation of hard-earned venison through Hunters Sharing the Harvest shows they’re invested in the wellbeing of their fellow Pennsylvanians, as well,” said Steve Smith, executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. “Year after year, as donation totals consistently climb, I stand in awe of hunters’ amazing support of the program and am proud of their contribution and what it represents.”
The HSH program is a coordinated effort of more than 100 participating deer processors who accept donated deer from hunters and process the deer into packages of ground venison for distribution to regional food banks and hunger relief agencies.
“We know that many agency partners throughout our network have come to rely on nutrient-dense venison donations to help feed their communities,” explained Julie Bancroft, CEO of Feeding Pennsylvania. “Feeding PA is grateful for the ongoing relationship with Hunters Sharing the Harvest, which provides more than a million servings of needed protein to food-insecure families across Pennsylvania annually.”
Since 1991, HSH has delivered 2.5 million pounds of hunter-donated venison, providing over 13 million servings to hungry Pennsylvanians.
“Hunger Free PA is honored and thrilled to once again this year partner with Hunters Sharing the Harvest,” said Stuart Haniff, CEO of Hunger-Free Pennsylvania. “Hunger in PA is a growing challenge and is great, impacting more than one million residents. But partnerships and collaborations such as ours with HSH are even bigger! In these times of rising costs and needs, the fact that HSH enjoyed another record-breaking year of venison donated, more than 1.3 million servings, is more crucial than ever. We congratulate and thank our partners at HSH. Together, we are working to ensure no one in Pennsylvania has to go to bed hungry.”
Hunters interested in donating a deer need only to legally harvest, tag and field dress the deer and take it to a participating processor near them. The list of participating processors by county can be found at https://sharedeer.org/meat-processors/. HSH seeks additional participating processors to augment its efforts in counties throughout Pennsylvania. Participating processors are reimbursed for their services and are the cornerstone of the HSH mission.
A volunteer force of nearly 60 county coordinators ensures that processors have the resources they need and that the public is aware of the program and the ways they can support the HSH mission. Those interested in being a coordinator are encouraged to contact Ferguson at 866-474-2141 or by emailing him at randy@sharedeer.org.
Businesses wishing to support the mission of Hunters Sharing the Harvest are encouraged to become a sponsor. HSH offers multiple levels of sponsorship to fit any organization’s budget. These supporting sponsors are a crucial source of operational support for the organization.
“Recent exponential increases in deer donations have resulted in higher-than-ever processing reimbursement costs to our organization,” said Ferguson. “We need the help of like-minded corporate supporters and individual donors now more than ever.”
Individuals can support Hunters Sharing the Harvest with a monetary donation of any amount online at https://sharedeer.org/support-our-mission/.
More information on Hunters Sharing the Harvest can be found at www.ShareDeer.org.
