MORGANTOWN — West Virginia hunters are well into the first week of buck season.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources expected more than 250,000 hunters in the woods for the opening day.
That’s a lot of deer and a lot of deer meat.
Kent A. Leonhardt, West Virginia commissioner of agriculture, put out a letter asking hunters to participate in an annual project that helps feed the hungry.
“Regardless if you participate in [hunting] or not, most of our state’s residents have eaten a hunter’s spoils,” Leonhardt writes in the letter. “Ask any West Virginian, and they will tell you hunting has made its mark on the people of the Mountain State.
“The same can be said for our aptitude to help West Virginians who have fallen on hard times.
Leonhardt said he’d like all hunters to consider donating a kill to the Hunters Helping the Hungry program.
This season marks the 27th consecutive year the DNR has operated the program. The program was established in 1992 and has been supported by the Governor’s One Shot Inc. since 2008. One Shot is tasked with privately raising funds to pay processors to ensure there is no cost for hunters who participate, according to Leonhardt’s letter.
Since its inception, hunters and participating processors donated 25,702 deer towards the cause.
“What this means for our state is our two area food banks, through the HHH program, have been able to collect 979,549 pounds of highly nutritious meat for some of our neediest families,” the letter states. “In terms of meals, we estimate 1,318,115 times a West Virginian did not go hungry.”
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture and the DNR are looking to expanding the program.
Leonhardt’s letter said the program hopes to add participating hunters and processors.
“If we want to help feed more families, we need additional hunters and processors to step up to the challenge,” Leonhardt said. “Our effort is only limited by our manpower, a challenge other charitable initiatives know too well.”
Hunters wanting to donate to the program must take their deer to a participating processor. That deer will be ground, packaged and frozen. From there, the Mountaineer Food Bank and Facing Hunger Foodbank will pick up the venison and distribute it through their statewide network of 600 charitable partners.
There is no cost to participating hunters.
Processors who would like to participate need to reach out to the DNR and/or the WVDA to become a certified partner.
“To all hunters, we ask while you pursue your passion think about giving back to those who desperately need assistance,” Leonhardt said. “Not only will you be helping control the deer population, you will be providing a high-quality, fresh food to families who may miss their next meal. Help us expand a program that is a clear win-win for our state. One more time, lets prove West Virginians will always step up to help our most needy.”
