The Santee Chapter of Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry was founded in March 2007. This chapter is a part of a national network of local chapters whose goal is to provide nutritious venison to the hungry in our communities through food banks and local feeding programs. This feeding ministry was started in Maryland back in 1997, and it has been growing every year since then.

The idea is to allow those who enjoy the sport of deer hunting to share their bounty with others by donating the harvested deer. The deer are delivered to participating licensed and inspected processors who process the venison at a reduced rate. Food banks and feeding ministries then pick up the processed frozen venison and use it to provide nutritious meals for those in need.

The cost of the processing is paid for through donations to the local chapters. It costs about $50 per deer for processing, and one deer can provide an average of about 50 pounds of meat. This equates to about $1 per pound of meat or about 25 cents per serving. Every donated deer provides about 200 servings of high-protein red meat for the hungry among us.

Last year, the Santee chapter raised more than $2,500 and had 44 deer processed. Our cooperating processor was the Bobby McDonald family, which owns and operates Highway #601 Deer & Hog Processors in Fort Motte. Our chapter provided frozen venison to Harvest Hope Food Bank and Hebron Colony Ministries in Santee, which is a private, Christian-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation ministry for women.

This year we hope to be able to donate even more venison to the needy in our community. We depend completely upon private donations, and we should respectfully request that you consider adding our FHFH chapter to your list of worth charities. FHFH is a registered non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization and contributions are tax deductible as allowed by law. Donations to FHFH can be sent to Bobby McDonald at 89 Hanes Mill Road, Ft. Motte, SC 29135 or to FHFH P.O. Box 335, Holly Hill, SC 29059. To find out more about FHFH, visit their website at: www.fhfh.org.

Thanks very much for your support. (Matthew 25:35, 40).

– James M. Simmons, Santee Chapter chairman

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