11/09/06 — For hunters who love deer season but don’t need or want a freezer full of venison, Hunters Sharing the Harvest has the perfect alternative. Since 1991, the organization’s voluntary venison donation and distribution program has supplied food banks throughout the state with ground venison donated by hunters from within their service areas.
Venison donated by Crawford County hunters, for example, is channeled back into the county through the Erie-based Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania, which supplies 16 food pantries in Crawford County.
“With extra bonus tags, a lot of hunters might harvest two or three deer, but their families might only consume one in a year,” explained Randy Ferguson, area coordinator for Mercer and Crawford counties. “They might want to donate it, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to do that. This is a program that coordinates the whole process.”
In 2005, the organization coordinated the delivery of 200,000 venison meals to hungry Pennsylvanians.
“It’s a great program,” Ferguson said Wednesday. “It’s been around for 15 years, but just hasn’t been real active in Crawford County.”
During the 2006 hunting season, however, Ferguson hopes to breathe new life into the local program.
When a Crawford County hunter takes a deer to a participating processor, Ferguson explained, the processor grinds and packages all the meat in 1- to 2-pound packages of ground venison and delivers it to Second Harvest, which in turn distributes it to Crawford County food pantries. A $15 fee paid by the hunter to the processor for each deer is the hunter’s only financial obligation, Ferguson stressed.
As deer season approaches, Ferguson is looking for both hunters and processors.
The program doesn’t work without processors, Ferguson said, so HSH collects donations from sources including the state Legislature, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and sponsors. Those funds are used to reimburse the processor for overhead costs associated with the processing. Through participation in the “Give a buck to the pot” program, he added, individuals can easily make tax-deductible donations to the organization.
Learn More
To learn more about Hunters Sharing the Harvest, visit www.sharedeer.org or contact Randy Ferguson at (724) 588-5336 or (724) 813-0839; toll-free at (866) 274-2141; or by e-mail at
Local News
Hunters can share the harvest, too
- Local News
-
-
Budget, aesthetics a balancing act at Armory
The next time there’s a moment or two to spare for quiet contemplation, pause in the vicinity of the City of Meadville’s picturesque Diamond Park. Let your eyes rest on Parkside Commons, the meticulously refurbished structure at the northeast end of the park that was once known as “the old junior high.” Make a point of focusing on the windows.
-
Former rockers Drywater enjoying glow from album's rebirth
It’s funny how perceptions can differ from one person to the next; how what sparkles in one set of eyes can appear tarnished in another.
-
Edinboro site eyed for retirement homes
About two years after halting expansion plans into the Conneaut Lake area, Meadville-based Wesbury United Methodist Retirement Community now is looking to expand north into Erie County, possibly sometime in 2013.
-
Langley voted in as Meadville City Council's new member
“Pleased” is the word that best describes Bob Langley’s response to the news that he had been selected to fill Meadville City Council’s vacant seat.
-
French Creek conservation group to benefit from environmentalist's talk
When one of the world’s best known environmentalists, the author and activist Bill McKibben, speaks next week at Allegheny College, his audience will likely be putting some money where its heart is — right into French Creek.
-
Vernon Police chief suspects 'human interaction' in Sunday fire
An investigation is continuing into a weekend fire that destroyed a historic structure in Vernon Township, and Vernon police are urging anyone with information to give them a call.
-
Walker hired to fill Meadville's newest administrative position
The City of Meadville’s soon-to-be-newest administrator is a familiar name in the area and familiar with the city.
-
Edinboro protest planned against proposed state budget cuts
If you’re a student or faculty member at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, don’t be surprised if Trevor Belz, a sophomore from Saegertown, shares some strong opinions with you in the next few days — and urges your attendance at a campuswide protest planned for Tuesday.
-
Local legislators: Corbett budget off to a good start
Elected officials representing Crawford County in Pennsylvania’s Senate and House of Representatives are gearing up for what looks like a lengthy budget process.
-
Crawford Central's Heller says new budget plan hobbles school districts
Area educators haven’t had a lot of time to mull over the implications of the budget proposal presented Tuesday to a joint meeting of Pennsylvania’s Senate and House of Representatives by Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Budget, aesthetics a balancing act at Armory






