Quick Poll

Does your Thanksgiving travel plans include staying at home, traveling in-state or traveling out-of-state?

Blogs

Angela McRae

Tea with friends

Deberah Williams

Everyday Finesse

Lorrie Lynch

Who's News

Published Monday, November 02, 2009 in Local

Hunters here is your chance to help the hungry

By MARTIN BROOKS

mbrooks@newnan.com

Local hunters can take dressed deer to Royal Baptist Church Friday through Sunday to help feed hungry people as part of the annual Hunters for the Hungry program.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources -- Wildlife Resources Division and Parks and Historic Sites Division, the Georgia Wildlife Federation, the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia State Association of Food Banks have come together again this year to continue Hunters for the Hungry, a program they started in 1993. Hunters for the Hungry, an annual event, asks hunters to bring their field-dressed deer to various collections sites within Georgia.

There are 15 collection sites in Georgia accepting deer throughout the season -- and three accepting deer on a November weekend. After the meat has been deposited at one of these locations, it is sent to the Department of Corrections to be processed and then to food banks, which distribute the meat to the needy.

Every hunter who brings deer to one of these drop-off sites will be entered into a drawing for a new hunting rifle. The winner will be announced February 2010.

The local weekend drop-off point for Coweta County is Royal Baptist Church of Newnan at 70 Mayo Royal Industrial Blvd., off Highway 16 West. Royal Baptist has participated in Hunters for Hungry for about five years, bringing in about 2.5 tons of deer meat last year.

The drop-off times are Nov. 6-8 between 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. There will be a large refrigerated trailer for all the field-dressed deer. During these times Royal Baptist will also be giving away prizes to participating hunters.

All of the 15 collection sites are also participating in the Drop-Back-A-Pack program. In that program, hunters can leave some of their processed venison in the freezer marked "Drop Back A Pack," when they pick up their processed deer. The venison collected in the Drop-Back-A-Pack freezers will also be donated to food banks for the needy.

Information, including participating collections sites, relating to Hunters for Hungry may be accessed at www.georgiawildlife.com -- search for "Hunters for Hungry."

(Martin Brooks is an intern with The Times-Herald news staff.)

Comment On This Story

Times-Herald.com does not necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Responsibility of comments rests solely with the writer. Comments posted in ALL CAPS will be deleted.

Submission of a comment does not guarantee publication. Comments will be posted by a moderator after being scanned for abusive language, relevance, etc. See our Comments FAQ for more details.