by Karen Mehall Phillips - Saturday, November 2, 2024
Recognizing hunters’ decades-old commitment to fighting hunger by sharing their wild game harvests with those less fortunate through the state’s Hunters for the Hungry (HFH) program, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared November Louisiana Wild Game Meat Donation Month to encourage all hunters to donate their surplus game meat and to ask fellow Louisianans to consider making a financial contribution to HFH this holiday season. Signed on Nov. 1, the official proclamation was made in conjunction with the NRA’s annual National Wild Game Meat Donation Month celebration in November to support hunters’ common-sense solution to fighting hunger by tapping into hunting's role as an integral cultural component of communities across America.
Gov. Landry’s proclamation underscores the fact hunting is enshrined in Louisiana’s state constitution, “offering opportunities to connect with nature while providing nutrition to hunters, their families and those less fortunate through community-based game meat donation programs.” In applauding Louisiana hunters’ commitment to fighting hunger, it urges all residents to increase their understanding and awareness of food insecurity and how it impacts our nation, state, counties and communities at a time when Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, reports that hunger is a reality for one in seven Americans. According to Feeding Louisiana, this translates to 683,110 Louisianans, including one in four children.
For background, the Louisiana Hunters for the Hungry (HFH) program was established in 1994 by hunters, sportsmen’s groups, meat processors, state meat inspectors and hunger relief organizations in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). It quickly gained traction as part of the then-fledgling national Hunters for the Hungry movement as hunters recognized they could make a difference where they hunt and where they live by helping hunters to route their surplus wild game meat to those in need. Thirty years later, according to the program’s website, the program provides nearly 40,000 pounds of protein to needy families each year—but even more game meat donations are needed.
The proclamation spotlights recent NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum research that shows while American hunters share 119 million pounds of harvested wild game meat with others outside their households each year, many meat processors involved in game meat donation programs in 2022 said they did not receive enough game meat to fulfill their missions. It also showed that in some cases, donated deer had to be turned away by processors due to a lack of funding.
In her personal appeal to hunters this holiday season, LDWF Secretary Madison Sheahan explained, “We are calling upon the hunting community to join in the fight against hunger in Louisiana through donating game meat to organizations that serve those in need. We hope that this month will serve as a reminder of the important role that hunting plays in the community and the responsibility we share as the ‘Sportsman’s Paradise.’”
Of course, part of the reason Louisiana is regarded as a “Sportsman’s Paradise” is because of Louisiana hunters’ ongoing contributions to conservation and the sheer amount of hunters’ dollars that come back to the LDWF each year. This is why Gov. Landry’s proclamation also points out the fact that the LDWF is funded largely by hunters through the “user pays, public benefits” system known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, resulting in $20,173,757 in Pittman-Robertson funding going back to the state in 2024 alone for its critical wildlife and habitat conservation programs. It also notes how upholding hunters’ tradition of sharing their wild game harvests takes on even greater significance as we strive to protect the future of hunting and increase its cultural acceptance while promoting it as a food source, a right and a vital wildlife management tool.
Included in the reasons outlined in Gov. Landry’s Louisiana Wild Game Meat Donation Month proclamation was the following heartfelt sentence: “The First Lady and I believe hunger is a problem we can help to solve together through Hunters for the Hungry initiatives so that one day hunger no longer exists in our state.” Based on the success of the Louisiana Hunters for the Hungry program, Louisiana hunters agree.
For those of us who have worked with HFH programs and other hunger relief organizations, the reality is that protein is often an expensive and scarce food source. Thanks to Louisiana Hunters for the Hungry, hunters can drop off a deer or hog to be processed at a participating processor’s facility at no charge. The Food Bank or other local food distribution agency then collects the processed meat, and the processor sends an invoice to HFH for reimbursement.
Hunters who wish to donate all or part of their harvested deer or hog and need to locate a participating HFH processor in their area, or those who wish to make a tax-deductible contribution to the program, can click here. To make a program contribution online while purchasing a hunting or fishing license, click here. For media inquiries, please contact Rene LeBreton: [email protected]; 504-286-8745.
When it comes to the success of Louisiana’s Hunters for the Hungry program, one does not have to be a hunter to appreciate how hunters give back and make a difference not just in November but all year long—and one does not have to be a Louisianan to feel inspired by a governor and first lady who care for others and demonstrate that what we hunters do matters greatly to our neighbors and our communities.
As someone who served as both a U.S. congressman and the state’s attorney general prior to becoming governor, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has a proven track record of fighting for common-sense values. His declaration of Louisiana Wild Game Meat Donation Month demonstrates an ongoing commitment to fellow Louisianans’ well-being and to bringing people together to deliver solutions.