Generous hunters are donating deer to the Hunters Helping the Hungry (HHH) program, providing thousands of pounds of venison to needy families across the state.

The 2008 season marks the 17th consecutive year that the Division of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Section (WVDNR) has sponsored the HHH Program. During this time, generous hunters and financial contributors have enabled the processing of 16,861 deer. With an average of nearly 38 pounds of ground venison produced from each deer, more than 638,726 pounds of highly nutritious meat has been made available to needy families throughout West Virginia .

Hunters participating in the program take their deer to approved meat processors where it is turned into two-pound packages of ground venison. The Mountaineer Food Bank of Gassaway and the Huntington Area Food Bank, both members of Second Harvest, collect the venison and then distribute it to the needy through their network of qualified charitable food pantries, soup kitchens, agencies, senior centers, and needy families. Financial support for the HHH comes from concerned individuals, businesses, conservation organizations, foundations and churches.

Click here to view the Participating West Virginia Meat Processors in PDF format. (Note: this is a two page document; scroll down to view the second page.)

The West Virginia Council of Churches has established and promoted a Share the Harvest Sunday in November. Participating Churches asked each member to contribute one dollar, five dollars or whatever they can afford to the HHH program. Since the Share the Harvest Sunday was implemented, approximately ($52,000) has been received to date from West Virginia churches, and plans are needed to expand this worthy venture to all churches that wish to participate.  (Click here to view Share the Harvest Sunday letter)

West Virginia is fortunate to have the generosity of so many hunters. The potential for HHH to continue to donate thousands of pounds of venison to the needy each year makes it a wonderful and worthwhile program. However, the total cost of this program can reach over $119,000 in one year. There is a lot of interest in this program, but the WVDNR cannot continue the HHH program at this cost without finding additional financial contributions.

Interested individuals, churches, organizations and businesses can ensure the perpetuation of Hunters Helping the Hungry through their generous monetary donations. These donations are accepted throughout the year. Checks or money orders can be made out to Hunters Helping the Hungry and mailed to:

For more information on your donation, contact Billie Sheaer at (304) 558-2771 or email: billieshearer@wvdnr.gov.

For more information concerning the HHH program, or to discuss tax-deductible donations, contact Jerry Westfall at (304) 558-2771 or email: jerrywestfall@wvdnr.gov. 

Table 1. Hunters Helping the Hungry Annual Report.