#inform-video-player-1 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

#inform-video-player-2 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A local nonprofit connected with the statewide organization Hunters Sharing the Harvest to bring a ton and a half of venison to four Cambria County food pantries.

Johnstown-based Center for Population Health will distribute the frozen meat to Cresson Food Pantry, in Cresson; Interfaith Community Food Pantry, in Nanty Glo; and the Franklin Street Food Pantry and Walnut Grove Food Pantry, both of Johnstown.

“So many people are grateful to have this extra source of protein on their table,” local food systems coordinator Nan McNinney said. “Cambria County has a rich history of deer hunting.”

Hunters Sharing the Harvest was created by a group of hunters in 1991 as a way to share their success with less fortunate neighbors. Executive Director Randy Ferguson said the number of donated deer has grown almost every year.

Last year, a record 235,532 pounds of venison from 6,201 deer were distributed to food pantries across Pennsylvania.

“We had the highest venison donation numbers in the country last year,” Ferguson said.

For hunters, the process is simple, he continued. They field-dress the carcass as usual and take it to a participating meat processor. There, they fill out donation forms and get receipts for the deer.

The meat is distributed through local food networks and Hunters Sharing the Harvest pays the processors for each deer.

“We were one of the first programs in the country,” Ferguson said. “From the beginning, we’ve been trailblazers in this. It’s something hunters should be proud of.”

Organizations in other states have worked with Hunters Sharing the Harvest to develop similar feeding initiatives.

Participating local processors include Thomas Smoked Meats LLC, 305 Fernwood Drive, Tire Hill, and K&G Deer Processing, 393 Tanner St., Ebensburg.

This is the first year in the program for K&G, co-owner Kristina Leitz said, announcing the business has already donated 50 pounds of venison to the Interfaith Community Food Pantry, in Nanty Glo.

Thomas Smoked Meats has been participating for more than a decade, owner Adam Thomas said. While some people enjoy hunting but don’t like the taste of venison, Thomas said, most donors just want to share with others.

“They get enough meat for their families, but they want to continue to hunt,” Thomas said. “They don’t want it to go to waste.”

“A lot of them just want to help,” Leitz said.

Women’s Help Center Executive Director Roxann Tygert said the venison is part of the center’s ongoing support for people who have left the shelter.

“This donation was a wonderful way to help us feed people in need,” Tygert said. “We have been able to distribute it to some families who have been struggling, as well as make the meat available to those in the shelter.”

Hunters Sharing the Harvest is supported by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Department of Agriculture, along with individual donors and sponsors.

Hunters who want to participate in the program can locate a participating processor and get more information on the Hunters Sharing the Harvest website, www.sharedeer.org, which also is the source of information about making monetary donations. 

#inform-video-player-3 .inform-embed { margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 20px; }