Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Hunters take aim at hunger problem
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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The other day Gary Arrington picked up his season's hunting licenses, including big game tags for him and his wife, and a set of deer bonus tags.
"That's 18 deer tags," he said incredulously. "That's a lot of deer."
And all of those deer tags -- the result of liberal regulations designed to help curb booming populations -- affect Arrington not only personally, but professionally.
In addition to being an avid hunter he is the special projects manager for Hunters for the Hungry, a charity that collects surplus deer and donates the venison to Virginia's needy, and which on Saturday will hold its annual fundraising banquet in the Roanoke Valley.
Since its inception in the 1990s, Hunters for the Hungry has set a new record for collections every year thanks to hunters whose freezers are filled but who want to do their part to help with herd management while also helping the state's needy.
Last year the group collected and distributed more than 500,000 pounds of venison.
Because of donations from culling programs and special population control seasons earlier this year, donations are already approaching 200,000 pounds for 2009, outpacing last year's tally.
So, another record is likely.
"With all the deer people have the potential to take, we're probably going to get more than ever," Arrington said.
It's not just as easy as collecting deer, though.
The average donated deer produces 50 pounds of meat, and the average cost of processing that deer averages $40. So the approximate cost of running a program that can handle 10,000 donated deer is about $400,000.
Arrington spends a lot of time working on ways to raise that money, plenty of which comes from non-hunters who realize this group is about hunger and not hunting.
Much of it comes from generous individuals.
Many hunters make a point to donate $40 for every deer they give. Some write sizable checks that cover the cost of many deer.
Many localities that have culling programs that send deer to Hunters for the Hungry do the right thing and pay the processing fee.
Church groups and clubs such as the Ruritans are important participants.
Corporate partners, such as banquet title sponsor WSLS, are hugely important.
And then there are the events, like sporting clays shoots, golf tournaments and Saturday's banquet.
As usual, the banquet will feature raffles and silent and live auctions for a variety of loot.
Donated auction items this year include guided hunts, bows and guns, and various other merchandise, most -- but not all -- outdoors related.
That's normal for conservation group banquets, but this one is somewhat unique.
Unlike many sportsman's groups that hold many banquets around the state, Hunters for the Hungry holds only this one.
And it's only possible because of a core group of volunteers who spend the better part of the year putting it together.
One big challenge the group faced this year was finding a location.
The previous two events were held in Salem at the big showroom at Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi, but the company -- whose co-owner Robert Harper is a dedicated Hunters for the Hungry supporter -- doesn't have the space at its new location in Roanoke.
This year's banquet will be at the Roanoke Moose Lodge No. 284, which is along U.S. Route 311 in the Bennett Springs area of Roanoke County. It starts at 5:30 p.m.
Last year's banquet raised $27,223.19.
This year's might struggle to reach that mark.
About 200 tickets had been sold as of Monday afternoon, according to Arrington. Last year's event drew about 400 people.
"There are so many things going on," Arrington said. "And the economy has a lot of people sitting on their hands."
A late rush helped attendance last year, and Arrington hopes that happens again.
Just not too late.
"I need to order the food on Wednesday," he said, laughing. "Last year we had sold 275 tickets and I went ahead and ordered 350 meals."
When the gamble worked out better than expected they made the food stretch, which seems appropriate for a group that helps individuals and families whose food budgets are stretched.
Tickets are priced lower than typical conservation group dinners, in part because there's no membership cost built in. The money covers the cost of the meal plus the important cut for the charity.
Single tickets are $20 and couples are $35. Kids under 12 years old are admitted free.
Tickets can be reserved by calling Fred and Phyllis Wells at 992-3874, or the Hunters for the Hungry office in Big Island at (800) 352-4868. The group's Web site is h4hungry.org.
Those who can't make the banquet but who would like to help can contact the office to find out how to make a financial donation.
