October 7, 2014 • Page 7 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com HUNTING & FISHING 2014 SPORTSMEN AGAINST HUNGER MEAT DONATION REACHES MILESTONE By: Ron Fowler, Sportsmen Against Hunger Since 1993 hunters have donated over 750,000 pounds of game meat to needy families in South Dakota through Sportsmen Against Hunger. This milestone of game meat donation translates to over 3,000,000 meals of meat to those who need it most. According to Feeding South Dakota, one in eight people of South Dakota live at poverty level and one in five kids go to bed hungry. A primary food shortage is fresh meat which is in high demand and difficult for lower income families to afford. Of particular demand is game meat because of its nutritional value in having low fat and high protein content. The willingness and ability of hunters to provide this much-needed meat to poverty-level families has continued to grow. Not only has the Sportsmen Against Hunger program grown in number of hunters donating and number of pounds of meat donated but also in variety of meat donated. In addition to the large donations of venison there were, starting in 2006, over 900 pheasants donated which increased to over 3,500 pheasants last year. Beginning in 2011, over 2,000 Canada geese were donated during special early seasons, and now this past year nearly 9,000 geese were donated. In 2013, for the first time, over 500 walleye were donated. The increasing popularity and success of Sportsmen Against Hunger started in 1993 with the foresight of the Black Hills Sportsmen’s Club of Rapid City. Game donation program features developed by Safari Club International provided the basis for organizing SD Sportsmen Against Hunger. The Sportsmen Against Hunger program was further developed and implemented through the work of a couple of Black Hills Sportsmen’s Club members. The first years of the program involved less than a dozen game processors who would accept and process game donated by hunters. In the last seven years approximately 50 game processors statewide have participated. Sportsmen Against Hunger is now a nonprofit charitable organization whose mission is to encourage and facilitate donation of wild game meat to needy people in South Dakota. In partnership with Feeding South Dakota, Sportsmen Against Hunger provides processed donated game meat to over 75 food pantries across the state annually for distribution to needy families. Although 750,000 pounds of donated game meat is significant, much more is necessary to meet the needs of povertylevel families in South Dakota. To provide an incentive for hunters to donate game, Sportsmen Against Hunger will again in 2014 pay for most or all of the processing costs for donated antlerless deer and doe/fawn antelope (as well as Canada geese harvested during the August Management Take and a portion of the Early Fall Canada Goose Season). Processing certificates are available from participating game processors for hunters to use to donate animals and to make processing fee payments. For more information on Sportsmen Against Hunger and how to donate visit website www.feedtheneedsd.com www.missourivalleyshopper.com Pre-Owned Specials  3 ?????3???????3??33 ??? 3 ?  3 ??????33???????3??33 ??? ?  3 ?????33 ?36??3?3??3??? ? SPRINGFIELD • REMINGTON MOSSBERG • WINCHESTER • SAVAGE • RUGER • BERETTA • SMITH & WESSON A-1 Pawn 515 E. 4th • Yankton 605-665-3182 MV Shopper M I S SOU R I VALLEY CLASSIFIEDS IN PRINT & ONLINE To place your ad call... 605.665.5884 5 O’’Cllock Somewhere O’C ock Somewher O’Cl ck Somewhere O’Clock Some here Clo h re Casino & Bar Sportsman’s Sportsman Special Bottled Beer While Playing HAPPY HOUR HAPPY HOU R $ 1 Mon. thru Sat., 4pm - 6pm thru Truly for the Players... 1522 Broadw Ya kton 1522 Bro dway • Yankton • Open @ 9 a.m 52 Broa wa ankton 522 Broadway ankton 522 Broadw kton ton am a.m. a.