Hunters helping those in need

Cambria food distributors again plan to share harvest from deer season

JOHNSTOWN -- While going out to harvest a deer might not be possible for some people, receiving venison this hunting season still is, according to Nan McNinney, the Center for Population Health's local food systems coordinator.

Last year, for the first time, McNinney connected seven Cambria County food distribution sites to Hunters Sharing the Harvest meat processors, resulting in over 11,000 pounds of ground venison being delivered to approximately 2,750 needy families in the area, she said.

Through the Center for Population Health's partnership with the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program, hunters can enjoy bonding time with friends and family while giving back to community members who aren't able to hunt for their own venison, McNinney said.

McNinney said many of the recipients are either too old to hunt, don't want to hunt anymore or are widows who don't have anyone to hunt for them. While they're unable to hunt for themselves, many of the recipients know how to cook the meat to make hamburgers, chili and Sloppy Joe sandwiches, she said.

"It's just venison," McNinney said, noting the meat is not mixed with any beef when it's processed.

The meat is also safe to eat because approved butchers test it for Chronic Wasting Disease before they process the deer, she said, adding venison "is a really excellent source of low-fat protein."

McNinney said hunters can donate their harvests at one of four approved butcher shops that service Cambria County: K&G Deer Processing in Cambria Township; Thomas Smoked Meats in Conemaugh Township, Somerset County; Fenton's Meats in Rayne Township, Indiana County; and Weimer's Custom Meats in Loyalhanna Township, Westmoreland County.

From there, the deer is skinned, cut up and ground into two-pound packages that are given to local food pantries within 24 to 48 hours, K&G Deer Processing owner Kristina Leitz said, noting her company has been a Hunters Sharing the Harvest meat processor for two and a half years. Much of the meat processed at her facility is donated to a food pantry in Nanty Glo, Leitz said.

Thomas Smoked Meats owner Adam Thomas said, while most of the meat processed at his facility is donated to Somerset County food pantries, they have donated venison to Cambria County pantries in the past.

The food pantries distribute the venison directly to the needy families, Thomas and McNinney said. The meat processors are then reimbursed for processing and bagging the deer, McNinney said.

"We have a really good relationship with (approved butchers) that when they get to a certain point, they'll call me and say, 'We have this many pounds ready for pickup,'" McNinney said, adding she arranges for pantries and other charitable organizations to distribute the meat accordingly. Most pantries give two of the two-pound packages to each family, she said.

In a press release, Theresa Wolf, a member of Pleasant Hill Church in Middle Taylor Township, one of the county's distribution sites, said many families in the community "benefited greatly" from Hunters Sharing the Harvest last year.

"In a time when grocery prices are rising rapidly, families were able to utilize the highly nutritional venison to stretch their grocery budgets and feed their children and families ... delicious meat," Wolf said.

At Thomas Smoked Meats alone, nearly 3,000 pounds of meat was donated last year.

"It's been a very successful program," Thomas said, adding several families are "very happy to have" the venison through the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program and look forward to it every year.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.