
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, November 6, 1995                   TAG: 9511060095
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE TARGETS ARE BUCKS YOU CAN FOLD

The 5-year-old Hunters for the Hungry program is shooting for 100,000 pounds of venison this season, but that's going to depend on how generous people are with a buck. Not the four-legged kind of buck, said David Horne, the program director, but the kind people carry in their billfolds.

It is the folding bucks that hold back the program, Horne said. It takes $30 to process 50 pounds of venison for distribution to the needy.

As for venison, that part of the program hasn't been a problem.

``Each year we have had to turn away hunters who would like to share [venison] with the needy,'' he said. ``Funds have not been available to cover the processing costs on the volume we could access.''

Were money available, that 100,000 goal could be exceeded by a large margin, Horne said. Even with the muzzleloading season opening today and the modern firearms season two weeks away, more than 23,000 pounds of venison already have been contributed this year, well ahead of last year's pace.

``I think, realistically, we could get 200,000 pounds of venison a year,'' Horne said. ``It is just a matter of building the fund base that can afford it.''

Horne has been traveling across the state promoting the program. He has received help from Gov. George Allen and the National Rifle Association. Even so, many hunters still don't consider contributing to the venture.

To remind them, Horne has provided hunting license agents with envelopes so sportsmen can make a contribution when they buy their bow, gun or big game licenses.

``That's not doing as well as I had hoped,'' he said. ``I think part of it is education, of getting the license agents to make the envelopes available. Some are sitting them on the counter, but what we had hoped they would do is actually give them to the hunter when he buys his license''.

If every hunter contributed $1, the program would be well-funded, he said.

The big push is aimed at hunters, ``but we are trying to get people outside the hunting community to contribute, as well,'' Horne said.

Some church, civic groups and businesses give annually. Contributions may be sent to: Hunters for the Hungry, P.O. Box 304, Big Island 24526.

The venison donated by hunters is processed by meat professionals and is frozen for distribution to food banks that feed the needy. New this year, the program will have trailer trucks available at four collection points in Eastern Virginia, where meat processors aren't numerous.

Since its beginning, the program has donated more than 275,000 pounds of venison to homeless shelters, food banks and soup kitchens across the state, Horne said. Meat is in high demand, because it is the most difficult food item for the agencies to obtain, he said.

``If we could get 200,000 pounds of venison, there is no question that we could distribute it,'' Horne said. ``I don't think we ever are going to reach the point where we have more meat than what people want.''

Hunters can donate all or a portion of their deer by taking it to one of the program's processors. When an entire deer is donated, the hunter is not required to pay the processing fee.

Here's a list of processors in the region:

AMHERST COUNTY: Green Valley Meat Processors, Naola, 804-299-5529; Lee-Moss Market, Madison Heights, 804-845-0311.

AUGUSTA COUNTY: Mullins Slaughter House, Stuarts Draft, 540-337-1566; Meadow Mountain Meat Shop, Lyndhurst, 540-942-4044; Augusta Frozen Foods, Staunton, 540-886-2731.

BEDFORD COUNTY: Martin's Meat Processing, Moneta, 540-297-2164; Mitchell's Grocery, Lynchburg, 804-384-1911; Andy Arrington, Bedford, 540-586-3723; Bryant's Grocery, Bedford, 540-586-1671.

CAMPBELL COUNTY: Peak's Slaughter House, Lynchburg, 804-846-5593; Schrock's Slaughter House, Gladys, 804-283-5400; Gary Hall, Evington, 804-821-8128; Harris Homestead Meats, Lynchburg, 804-237-5140.

FLOYD COUNTY: Willis Village Meat, Willis, 540-789-7241.

FRANKLIN COUNTY: Bowman's Meat Processing, Burnt Chimney, 540-721-2045.

GILES COUNTY: Smith Valley Meats, Rich Creek, 540-726-3993.

HENRY COUNTY: Pinecrest Meats, Martinsville, 540-632-8567; Tim Belcher, Martinsvillle, 540-632-9155.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Custom Meats Inc., Blacksburg, 540-951-8292.

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY: Keister's Market, Danville, 804-822-0134.

PULASKI COUNTY: Fowlkes Meat Processing, Pulaski, 540-980-3216.

ROANOKE: Overstreet Foods, Roanoke, 342-3860.

ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY: H.L. McClung, Fairfield, 540-377-6368.

SCOTT COUNTY: Y&Y Custom Slaughtering, Duffield, 540-546-4438.

by CNB