How It All Began

I was driving down a Virginia highway in late September to meet with some friends. We were planning to clear a little brush at the farm where we hunted and to celebrate the landowner's birthday with a barbecue. About five miles before turning down the gravel farm lane I spotted a woman standing by her car with the trunk open. I was a little late and tempted not to stop, but now I'm glad I did.

My dad, Rick Wilson, still recounts this experience from ten years ago as if it happened last week. Little did he know that this was the beginning of an incredible journey on a mission from God to feed hungry children and families—a mission that would eventually grow to include the time and talents of hundreds nationwide.

From her dress and the appearance of her old car of many colors it appeared she was not well off. When I asked if her car was broken down, she said, "No, but could you please help me over here beside these bushes?’’ Hesitantly, I followed and spotted a fat but slightly battered 6-point buck next to her car. I asked if she had hit the deer with her car and she said she had not. "Could you help me put it in my trunk?" she asked.

I explained that unless she reported the deer to the State Police or a Wildlife Officer she could be issued a citation for transporting an untagged deer. She looked into my eyes and slowly answered, "I don't care...my kids and me are hungry." With that I realized she was anxious for help, not talk, so we loaded the deer into her trunk.

As she closed the lid of her trunk I asked, "Would you like me to field dress it for you?" Her reply answered any remaining questions. "No, since my husband left, my kids and me are gettin` good at it. Doing it later keeps them from bleeding all over my trunk."

Standing there as she drove away I knew I had just looked into the eyes of Jesus who said that whenever we help one of the least of His brothers and sisters we are actually serving Him.

That year we became aware of a program called "Virginia Hunters Who Care" that collects extra deer from hunters to provide meat to the needy of the state. The program raises financial support all year long to cover the costs of butchering the deer so that hunters can donate them free of charge.

After donating numerous deer harvested from the farm in Virginia, Dad knew that he had to bring the same opportunity for hunters to feed the hungry free of charge back to our home state. During the fall of 1997 Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) was born in Washington County, Maryland. That first season enough money was raised to process and distribute 3,800 pounds of venison—enough for over 15,000 meals!

As sportsmen we are well suited for the battle against hunger. For thousands of years hunters and fishermen have provided food for the people of their communities. While the need to hunt or fish for food has diminished in many parts of the world, the need to feed our hungry neighbors has not. One deer can feed over 200 people and an elk can feed a whole lot more. With one out of five children in America going to bed with a hungry belly each night, sportsmen must revisit their heritage and become food providers for their hungry neighbors.

Over the next couple of years FHFH drew on the talents and resources of sportsmen, landowners, meat processors, financial supporters, regional food banks and local feeding ministries to grow into a statewide program. The Maryland DNR eventually gave hunters the opportunity to donate a dollar or more to the cause when purchasing their hunting license. Eventually the legislature gave the DNR the authority to use $1 from the sale of each license to support venison donation programs like FHFH.

Recognizing the role deer donation could play in reaching annual deer harvest and management goals, the DNR used these dollars to provide grant funding to help FHFH receive and process more donated deer. The opportunity to donate enables hunters to continue harvesting deer for the hungry after their own freezers are stocked with meat. Maryland now ranks near the top among states nationwide in the number of hunters successfully taking two or more deer per season.

National Expansion

Blessed with some excellent television and magazine coverage—beginning with a half hour show produced by Mossy Oak in 2001—FHFH has attracted the attention of many people interested in starting an FHFH Chapter. Beginning with just one county during 1997, FHFH has now grown to include over 100 local Chapters in over 25 states across America. Together these provide meat for over a million meals to the hungry annually!

Some have shared stories describing how thankful they are for the opportunity to turn their interest in hunting and the outdoors into a ministry to feed the hungry. Dale Nees, father of Tri-County Illinois FHFH Coordinator Jimmy Nees, shared the following account with us.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your ministry. I want to thank you for offering an outlet for my son to make this his ministry also. Three years ago our grandson, Carter Dale, was born. He started turning blue and then purple within minutes of his birth. He was transported immediately to another hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit. After tests, he was flown by helicopter to Peoria, Illinois to yet another hospital that did heart surgeries on newborns. As I sat down next to my son, Jimmy, in a waiting room I handed him an envelope. In it was money from us, from his grandparents and from the church in which they were married. "Dad,” he said. “I can't take this money; I can never pay them back." Then the tears started rolling down Jimmy’s cheeks.

Dale goes on to explain how he reminded Jimmy of a time when he had given a prized piece of racing memorabilia to a man who desperately needed money for medical treatment. From that experience, Jimmy had learned how good it felt to help another person. Remembering this helped Jimmy to accept the money being offered to help with little Carter’s mounting medical expenses.

Carter is fine now. But, the way people had helped the family gave my son a burning desire to return the favor and help others. Now, thanks to FHFH, he’s found a way.

Through their experiences coordinating FHFH Chapters, many others have come to recognize what the greatest teacher of all time meant when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Perhaps you or someone you know will be the next person unable to escape the call to form a new FHFH Chapter so the hunters of your area can shoot the heart out of hunger!

Public Reaction

FHFH has been well received by both hunters and non-hunters nationwide. Many who don’t hunt themselves decide to become involved as financial supporters…

As a father of 13 children, I was deeply touched upon reading the article about the woman who was picking up road kills to feed her family. Enclosed please find a check to help process one deer. May God bless your work.

The opportunity to be a blessing to others is appealing to people in various stages of life…

I’m a Vietnam Veteran, 100% disabled, who receives a complimentary hunting license each year. I would like to pass on the cost of the license to FHFH. Should I be fortunate enough to harvest a deer, I would also like to donate the meat.

Perhaps most surprising are the financial gifts that have been received from those who say they are opposed to hunting…

I have always been opposed to hunting. It’s upsetting to see animals killed just to grace the walls of hunters’ dens, but your story really got my attention and gave me some hope for all concerned...My husband was really surprised when I told him I wanted to make this donation of $100. Thanks for your gift.

Will People Like the Meat?

Do those who receive the meat—particularly in places where eating game meat is no longer common practice—like eating it? This question was quickly answered in the second year of FHFH when a number of people gathered to help prepare and serve venison spaghetti to more than 150 hungry neighbors of the Bethel AME Church in downtown Baltimore.

During the meal children, youth and their single parents were heard saying things like, “Can you come back tomorrow? We never get good meat like this!” One little girl proclaimed excitedly, “This is better than the food we ate at the restaurant last night!” The cook was quietly asked how the girl and her family could afford to eat out one night and then find themselves at a soup kitchen the next. “I know that family,” she said. “They eat from the dumpsters behind local restaurants.” At that point we knew for certain we had to find a way to process every deer available to us!

Meat from FHFH makes its way to local shelters and soup kitchens and also to larger regional food banks such as those of the America’s Second Harvest network. These food banks obtain, store and distribute food to many smaller agencies across several counties. Most will tell you that fresh meat is their most wanted yet least available food resource.

Robert Forney, past President and CEO of America’s Second Harvest, shared the following endorsement of FHFH in a note last year:

I strongly support the work of Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry and their efforts to help us end hunger in America – and urge that you do as well. Hunger is indeed a serious problem in America – over 10% of Americans are food insecure!

As the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, America’s Second Harvest runs more than 200 regional food banks and food rescue programs throughout the country. And I can tell you – without any hesitation – that the hundreds of thousands of pounds of donated, nutritious red meat that Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry has made available to us have been enormously helpful in this vital work. Due to its high cost and strict packing and health safety requirements, fresh meat is easily our most needed and least available food item.

Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry provides sportsmen across the country the opportunity to use their special talents and generous enthusiasm on behalf of feeding hungry people, and we greatly appreciate their efforts. I urge you to support them with your donations of deer and dollars.

Since the beginning we’ve been careful to provide the finest venison and other big game possible to those who need it. FHFH follows the Food Recovery Guidelines published by the FDA and USDA for using game meat to feed the hungry. These guidelines are used by many food banks and feeding programs and are provided to all FHFH Chapters nationwide.

Get in the Game!

FHFH returns hunters to their role as food-providers by transforming deer and other big game—God-given renewable resources—into food for the hungry among us. FHFH Chapter Coordinators nationwide are working with licensed butcher shops and local food banks and feeding programs to enable hunters to donate game animals for processing and distribution to the needy of their communities. Contributions from individuals, churches, businesses, clubs and other organizations, along with special fundraising events and projects, enable FHFH Chapters to cover the entire butchering cost for each donated animal so that hunters can donate their harvest free of charge. The need for financial support is the primary factor limiting the amount of meat that can be processed and distributed to the hungry and the amount of resources and assistance that FHFH can provide to each Chapter.

Through His Word God continues to light our way with passages such as the following from the Old Testament book of Isaiah…

“...and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:10-11

For information about starting an FHFH Chapter in your community OR to make a tax-deductible contribution today, please contact us by phone (1-866-GET-FHFH), email (staff@fhfh.org) or visit us online at www.fhfh.org!