Excellent Example of How HSH Benefits from Youth Hunters

Photo by Brian Gillette, Cameron County Coordinator for Hunters Sharing the Harvest

Congratulations to Dinah DiMeolo of Tunkhannock, pictured with her first archery buck which she donated to Hunters Sharing the Harvest (HSH) in Cameron County! Dinah is the daughter of Dan & Vanessa DiMeolo and granddaughter of Ron Andrews, owner of Deer Park Lumber. Niece of Matt and Ryan Andrews, owner of Mountain Energy Services located in Tunkhannock PA both sponsors of Hunters Sharing the Harvest program.

Dinah’s archery skills have been honed by her father who is an archery hunter and since 4^th grade as a member of the National Archery in The Schools Program (NASP) offered to students of the Tunkhannock School District. This is Dinah’s second year hunting afield during Archery season.

The state’s archery season is in full swing and this fall’s deer season fast approaching. Dinah’s buck was harvested on the Andrew’s property and weighed in at 155 pounds. It is being processing by Dan Wolfe of Valley Meats in Emporium, who is a registered deer processor with the HSH program. No doubt this buck will produce many meals for some families in the Cameron county area by way of the Cameron County Community Food Pantry located on W. 4^th Street in Emporium. (www.ntcac.org). An average size deer can feed up to 200 meals when processed into ground burger.

Last year, 935,000 hunting license buyers harvested nearly 316,000 white-tailed deer in PA. For many hunters this venison is an important part of providing their families and friends with a highly nutritious source of protein. However, many hunters today purchase multiple tags and find they are able to harvest more deer than their family can use. That’s where Hunters Sharing the Harvest program comes in. Hunters can continue hunting knowing that additional deer harvested will provide meals for needy individuals and families in their local communities. There is no cost to the hunter when donating a whole or portion of a deer. A donor receipt is filled out by the hunter, which is turned in for reimbursement by the HSH program at an agreed to rate determined at registration and inspection. The processed, bagged and frozen meat is taken to the nearest food bank or assistance center for distribution to be distributed to those who need it.

From the field to the foodbank, all donated deer meat is tracked, bagged, safely stored and distributed allowing for total transparency of the food supply chain. At the end of each season, total pounds and number of deer are calculated. The generosity of both adult and youth hunters is greatly appreciated as are financial donations to the programs which help to offset the cost of processing and storing the deer meat.

The Andrew’s family is well known for its wildlife conservation practices and love of the outdoors. By way of a family endowment fund, supporting Cameron County Outdoor Youth Activities it offers many programs to families and children who would like to participate in and learn more about the outdoors and wildlife conservation in general. They will be holding a youth doe hunt this weekend on the Andrews property and all participants have agreed to donate their harvest to the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program.

Hunters Sharing the Harvest is celebrating its 25^th year and its million-pound milestone of processing and distributing donated venison since 1991. During the 2015 season, 109,750 pounds were processed and distributed to food banks and soup kitchens statewide. For more information on how to donate to the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program, or to located registered deer processors and county coordinators please visit www.sharedeer.org or call 1-866 HSH-2141.