Caitlin Yates has a message for her hunter friends: if they see a whitetail deer in the scope of their rifles, it’s not just a small victory for a seasoned sportsman; it could become a holiday dinner for a needy Houston-area family.
Yates’ parents Robert and Peggy have owned Bay Area Deer Processing in Pasadena since 1987 and their store is partnering with Houston Food Bank for this year’s Hunters for the Hungry event.
Hunters can donate legally tagged, field-dressed deer to a participating meat processor, who then prepares the venison for distribution. After processing, the Bay Area meat market sends its Hunters for the Hungry donations to a nearby church, and it’s an honor to get to help feed those in need, Yates said.
A little deer meat goes a long way, she said.
“This year we’ve been seeing lots of bigger deer,” Yates said. “Word on the street is there are lots of acorns out so I think they’re eating pretty good. Most of the deer I’m getting are over 40 pounds. One deer could easily feed a family of four.”
Deer meat is one of the leanest proteins, and it’s expensive to buy, so families who rely on local churches and food pantries to supplement their groceries will be getting a special treat.
“If you’re not a hunter, deer meat is hard to get because you can’t sell wild game,” Yates said. “It’s actually illegal, so to buy processed deer meat, it has to be farm-raised. That kind of deer meat, if you go to a meat market, is easily $10 a pound. It’s expensive, so most people don’t budget for that kind of lean, healthy protein. This is a great way for people to get the opportunity to eat it, and for people who are in need.”
Houston Food Bank’s sourcing manager for perishable foods Brandon Olson said more than 600 pounds of deer meat were provided to hungry families last year through the Hunters for the Hungry program.
“Protein is always a highly desired food, and because it’s very expensive sometimes, it’s that much more precious to people who are facing food insecurity and necessary for them to be able to get access to it,” Olson said. “The fact that Hunters for the Hungry allows us to empower our community partners and our neighbors to enjoy the sport and have it directly translate to put that crucial protein on their neighbors’ plates, that is super exciting to me.”
Olson added that he’s set a personal goal to ensure that those facing food insecurity have access to meat and dairy products, and this program “is one more really awesome avenue to serve that mission.”
News of the Texas hunger crisis has been top of mind lately due to a 43-day federal government shutdown that caused an estimated 1.4 million workers to go weeks without a paycheck and halted food stamps for 3.5 million Texans. The government reopened on November 12, but there are still hundreds of thousands of families anxious about having enough to eat over the holidays, when schools are on break and kids can’t access free lunches.
This is the seventh year that Houston Food Bank has participated in Feeding Texas’ Hunters for the Hungry event, a partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The program is not related to food distributions for SNAP recipients.
Since the program launched, more than 10 million servings of venison have been distributed to Texans across the state, according to Feeding Texas.
The process is simple, Yates said. Hunters can drop off tagged axis deer, blackbuck, fallow deer, mule deer, nilgai, oryx, silka deer and whitetail deer. Due to state and federal health regulations, Hunters for the Hungry does not accept donations of feral hogs.
Hunters sign a game warden logbook and provide the tag, and Yates will fill out the same order form she uses for paying customers.
“I write on the order that it’s a donation and that’s how we keep track of how many animals are coming in,” she said. “The whole process probably takes about 10 minutes.”
Then the team turns the deer into ground meat packaged in two-pound “chub bags” provided by the Houston Food Bank.
Bay Area Deer Processing in Pasadena, Midway Food Market in Katy, Chappell Hill Sausage Co. near Brenham and Junior’s Smokehouse in El Campo are among the participating shops throughout the state that will process donated meat at no cost to the hunters. The program runs through mid-January.
Yates said she expects Hunters for the Hungry donations will pick up over the Thanksgiving break or toward the end of the season.
“Some of these people who hunt on [Managed Land Deer] ranches, they have to harvest a certain amount of deer,” she said. “Sometimes it’s too much meat for them. They don’t have the space to keep it all. I typically count on those people to donate. I’m hoping it picks up a little.”
Yates said she’s “super appreciative” to be part of the Hunters for the Hungry program.
“We love to service all hunters in the area and we also love to help our community,” she said. “We would really appreciate donations. I know the church is very appreciative of it and we want to do right by them.”
The post Hunters Take a Shot at Ending Hunger appeared first on Houston Press.
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