On the upper east side of Manhattan tomorrow, more than 300 folks who are in need will get some healthy meals because of the hunters of New York State.
More than 300 pounds of ground venison was delivered to the Unitarian All Souls Church on Lexington Avenue. The meat was donated by the Venison Coalition of New York, and along with the venison, six hunters will join the volunteers in helping to distribute the meals.
The Venison Donation Coalition is a foundation supported by sportsmen’s organizations as well as corporations, civic and religious organizations, and individual citizens.
It was 16 years ago when a group began the Hunters for the Hungry program and was prepared to donate 400 pounds of venison for distribution to the needy but discovered that state law at the time prevented them, and other similar groups operating New York, from doing so.
The law in 1993 deemed it illegal to distribute, for public consumption, meat from animals that were not slaughtered under qualified supervision to ensure that the meat was safe to eat. As a result, Hunters for the Hungry programs operating throughout New York at that time were being told they couldn’t donate more than 10,000 pounds of venison to food banks and other organizations providing meals to the unemployed, shut-ins, senior citizens, and other needy citizens.
The state legislature quickly acted to establish a program to address the appropriate health concerns and allow the donations to be made before the meat spoiled.
The resulting venison donation program is coordinated today by the Venison Donation Coalition, a broad-based partnership that includes a range of area supporters. Established in 1993 (then made permanent several years later), the program has allowed sportsmen and women to donate venison and other game to food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens and additional not-for-profit organizations and charities that feed the poor.
Today the Venison Donation Coalition operates statewide. Countless needy citizens have enjoyed nutritious meals as a result. Since the year 2000, the Coalition has coordinated the collection, processing and distribution of over 337 tons of venison — equal to more than 2.7 million servings of highly nutritious, low-fat, high-protein meat — for distribution by regional food banks.
Anyone seeking more information can go to their website at http://www.venisondonation.com, call (866) 862-3337 or write to the coalition at: 415 West Morris Street, Bath, NY 14810.
ken.moran@nypost.com