by Mark Chesnut - Tuesday, July 30, 2024
As most hunters know, numerous programs throughout the country allow hunters to donate wild game meat to help feed those in need. In fact, since the Texas Hunters for the Hungry program was created in 1988, hunters have provided more than 10 million servings of venison for hungry Texans—and that’s just one program in one state. But that’s not the only way hunters are helping to feed those who otherwise wouldn’t have enough to eat. NRA’s Hunters’ Leadership Forum (HLF) recently donated $30,000 to help feed Missouri children who are in dire need of nutritious meals.
The NRA HLF donation was made to the Conservation Federation of Missouri and earmarked for the Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri (FBCNM) to process venison snack sticks for what the organization calls “Buddy Packs.” The packs consist of pre-packaged meals that are distributed to schools in the food bank’s 32-county service area.
Food insecurity is a serious problem throughout the United States, and central and northeast Missouri is no exception. As shared by the food bank, one in six children in its service area faces hunger on a regular basis, with more than half qualifying for free or reduced-price meals at school. Studies show children who face food insecurity are more likely to experience problems at school, are more likely to suffer from anxiousness and irritability, and are more likely to have to repeat a grade at school more often than peers who are not food insecure.
And while providing meals to underprivileged children at school that include healthy venison snack sticks is a good start to keeping them fed, the food shortage problem reoccurs when they go home for the weekend and have nothing to meet their nutritional needs until they return to school on Monday.
As shared on the FBCNM’s website, “Buddy Packs are pre-packaged bags with a variety of food each week, with items like easy-to-make meals, cereal and peanut butter.” Underscoring the need for the packs, it notes, “We distribute food to 7,500 children through the Buddy Pack Program each week during the school year at more than 150 schools in our 32-county service area.”
The FBCNM created the Buddy Pack Program in 2020 to help feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Volunteers packaged the food themselves and distributed it. The program helped so many children that the organization decided to make it a permanent emphasis.
The new Buddy Packs are purchased from a third party already packaged, which reduces the old packs' intense volunteer and storage needs. “Because they are ordered pre-packaged instead of relying on what food is on hand, the Food Bank can regularly change the packs' items to make them more enjoyable and nutritious for kids,” the FBCNM explains. While the old packs often included the same food each week and lacked variety,” it adds, “the new Buddy Packs also have more nutritional value, improving students' health and their ability to focus while in the classroom”—thanks, in part, to the NRA HLF providing for high-protein venison snack sticks.
It costs about $7.50 to provide a buddy pack to feed a child over a single weekend, and a donation of $270 provides Buddy Packs to a student for an entire school year. Consequently, the $30,000 donation from the NRA HLF will provide a year’s worth of Buddy Packs for more than 100 children who otherwise wouldn’t have their nutritional needs met.
The donation will help kids who really need it. Past experience shows how the children appreciate the Buddy Packs. As one child quoted on the FBCNM said, “It gives me food when I need it. It helps my family out in ways you couldn't even imagine.”
While the NRA HLF donation will help feed many children, more funds are needed to provide Buddy Packs to all children in the area who face the problem of food insecurity. To learn more or to make a donation, click here.