FOR YEARS HGC-SCI FIRST FOR HUNTERS has participated in the SCIF (Safari Club International Foundation) National Sportsmen Against Hunger program, contributing much needed food and other items to the needy through this program and local affiliates like Hunters Harvest. Thanks to caring sportsmen and sportswomen across the nation, over 250 million meals are served annually via these programs, which help share nature's bounty with the hungry.  Active in all 50 states of the U.S., in parts of Canada, and in several other countries around the world, it’s just one of many humanitarian projects sponsored by SCIF.

Just to give you an idea of the scope of these efforts, since Hurricane Katrina, SCI's Magnolia Chapter alone has delivered some 16,000 lbs. of wild game meat to residents of Mississippi's Gulf Coast, where recovery efforts will need to continue for some time. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour honored these humanitarian efforts with a Proclamation presented and read to SCIF by Mississippi Representative Charles "Chip" Pickering, Jr., on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. in May 2007.

Another Gulf Coast delivery of 2,000 lbs. was made in April 2009; 1,000 lbs. are being provided to veterans at the Center for the Intrepid in Texas in a joint effort between members of our North Texas and Alamo San Antonio Chapters and 500 lbs. are slated for relief organizations thanks to the Louisiana SCI Chapter.

In Houston Hunters’ Harvest began as a loose association of hunters who were members of The Get Together in February 2005,
utilizing their skill, expertise and love of hunting and fishing to feed hungry people served by non-profit organizations. Their purpose was to encourage hunters to donate fish and game to Get Together Partner Ministries feeding the hungry. In 2006, a committee was
formed to explore ways to expand the ministry and provide more fish and game to these organizations. To date, Hunters’ Harvest has provided in excess of 59,000 pounds of fish and game to our Partner Ministries through:
• A partnership with Pacto con Dios, a ministry in San Marcos, TX. Executive Director, Joe Lee, works in game management and processes game at his facility for the purpose of feeding the hungry and sharing the Gospel. Men from Victory Home were trained in meat cutting and processing at the Pacto con Dios facility.
• A contract with the Harris County Flood Control District to rid county property of feral hogs. Hog hunters were hired to do this job and donated half of what was harvested to ministries served by The Get Together
• Clean Out Your Freezer Day events, which have yielded 12,410 of fish and game donations.
• Texas Dog Hunters’ Association/Hunters’ Harvest Hog Hunt Contest, which yielded 10,000 lbs. of meat in 2008.
• Partnership with Pete’s Fine Meats, Maxwell's Smokehouse and Midway Meat Market who provide processing and storage of Hunters’ Harvest donations at no charge.

Your local HGC-SCI Chapter has donated over 2000 pounds to Sportsmen Against Hunger and Hunters’ Harvest in the past few years in conjunction with an annual Christmas drive where members bring donations to the annual Christmas party. Hunters’ Harvest has arranged pick up the last couple of years for the frozen game and fish collected. And while those donations dropped off in 2008 due to many members losing the contents of their freezers due to Katrina, a large amount of much needed dry goods and clothing for local shelters like Victory Home was collected. Victory Home is a residential home reaching the substance abuser, ex-offender and
gang member with the purpose of successfully changing men into responsible, productive and contributing members of society. All services at Victory Home are offered at no cost to those they serve. The collection of dry goods has been a part of the drive ever since.

To facilitate these programs SCIF has developed online databases of over 1,300 meat processors and hundreds of Hunger Relief Organizations that are willing to process or receive wild game meat as part of SCIF's Sportsmen Against Hunger program. You can just click on a state to locate processors and to donate any extra harvested wild game meat you may have to the relief organization of your choice.

For more information on Sportsmen Against Hunger or other SCIF Humanitarian Services programs, visit SCIF online at http://www.safariclubfoundation.org or call 800-377-5399. To contact Hunters’ Harvest in Houston call or e-mail Cathy Lawdanski at (281) 320-8259 or cathy@huntersharvest.org. And to learn more about the many food-sharing programs in the U.S. and Canada, visit the NRA Hunters for the Hungry Information Clearinghouse website at http://www.nrahq.org/hunting/hungry_nat_list.asp.

by David Kelly
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