The Tennessee Wildlife Federation's Hunters for the Hungry program is in full swing for the 2009/2010 hunting season as the state-wide muzzleloader season opens November 7th and lasts through the 20th.
Hunters for the Hungry works with hunters and meat processors to fight hunger by providing properly prepared venison to food banks, church programs and soup kitchens. There are 70 processors in 54 counties across the state of Tennessee participating in the program.
The two participating processors closest to Chattanooga are:
DeerMaster
1115 McFarland Ave
Rossville, GA 30741
(423) 883-0028
R&D Custom Meat Processing Highway 127
Dunlap, TN 37327
(423) 554-4288
Click HERE for a complete list (PDF File).
Last season, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation (TWF) introduced TWF Chapters which allow local volunteers to start, manage, and support Hunters for the Hungry in their home town or county. These chapters use money raised locally to adopt processors in order to provide free processing for hunters who donate deer to the program.
There are currently 21 counties with funding to accept deer for free processing. TWF keeps a list of funds available for processing on their website at www.tnwf.org. The list is updated weekly. Participating processors who have not yet been adopted typically offer discounts on donated deer to hunters donating deer. Check with your local processor for details.
Another means of donation by sportsmen and women to the program is the "pound or pack" method. By this way of donation, processors can accept a small portion of processed deer to be kept for pick up and distribution.
"Last year more than 71,000 pounds of venison was donated to the program, providing over 284,000 meals to those less fortunate," said Matt Simcox, TWF's Hunters for the Hungry coordinator. "With the current economic situation affecting the food budgets of so many Tennessee families, we hope hunters this year will take advantage of liberal doe seasons to help us provide relief to those in need. We also want to remind hunters to donate $1 or more to Hunters for the Hungry when purchasing their Tennessee Hunting and Fishing license," he continued.
For information on starting a local TWF Chapter for Hunters for the Hungry in your area, contact Matt Simcox at (615) 353-1133.