Hunters For

The Hungry

NEW MILFORD – Hunters for the Hungry has begun its fifth annual program to collect donations of game meat for Connecticut food pantries and shelters. During the past four years the program has collected more than 12,000 pounds of donated game.

To donate, the game must have been hunted and legally taken. It must be processed, packaged (no more than five pound packages are preferred), and refrigerated. Each package must be properly labeled. An approved, reproducible label is included in the Hunter for the Hungry brochure.

Hunters can donate meat that they have processed themselves as long as the usual care is taken. An animal also can be taken to a participating meat processor who will cut up the deer free or for a discount if the game is to be donated to a soup kitchen.

Brochures that explain the program have been distributed to meat processors and are available at the Department of Environmental Protection check stations.  For more information, call 860/350-1001.

Anyone who donates a minimum of five pounds of meat will be eligible to participate in a drawing for prizes that include shotguns, rifles, and other hunting items.