Hunters donating venison to those in need
BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Monday kicked off firearn deer hunting season, and with it each year a half-million meals will be given to those in need, thanks to hunters. Since 1991, a nonprofit charity, Hunters Sharing the Harvest, has donated more than 1 million pounds of venison throughout Pennsylvania.
Donations for the 2017-2018 hunting season were record breaking, with 3,337 deer being donated, which provided 667,400 meals.
"To be able to contribute their harvest, that's a pretty good honest thing," said Jason McCready, owner of McCready's Deer Processing.
McCready's Deer Processing has been around since the 1970s, but it does more than just process deer for local hunters. This past hunting season, the business donated close to 3,000 pounds of venison through Hunters Sharing the Harvest.
"We bone it out and grind it and package it into 2-pound packages. And then we give it to the local food bank, and that meat is then distributed out to families that can use it or would like to have it," said McCready.
This is all made possible by hunters who are willing to share their harvest.
"It helps others and it helps me, because I don't have as much freezer space as I need right now to harvest the deer and pack it away and freeze it. So it helps me and it benefits others," said Laird Benton, a hunter dropping off his deer at McCready's.
New hunters who are just learning about the program are hoping to do their part this season.
"This is my first deer. If I had a surplus and I filled my freezer I would definitely be interested in helping out those who need help in the community," said Colton Czack a local hunter.
McCreedy's only charges Hunters Sharing the Harvest $40 to process a deer, which is half of what it normally charges. The Department of Agriculture partners with Hunters Sharing the Harvest to help cover some of the processing costs.
Because of the increase in donations over the years, the Department of Agriculture will be helping cover the costs for more than 110 processors throughout the state.
Jason McCready says a hunter must bring the entire deer in if they want to donate so he can ensure it's safe for donation.
"The whole deer comes in. It's gotta have the hooves, the head, the hides on. Then I check it out and as long as it's healthy it can be used," said McCready.
McCready hopes that this season the shop can donate even more.
"The way it seems already, just for the archery season we donated close to 100 pounds. So we'll see what the rest of the year brings with it," said McCready.
Processing locations throughout the state can be found here.
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