Jennalee Meck
FFA Reporter
The Pocahontas County agriculture program will partner with the Hunters Helping the Hungry Organization, and process donated venison for local food banks. There is a need and a demand for meat in many food banks across West Virginia.
The Hunters Helping the Hungry is a state organization that receives donated venison meat, which they then process and give to food banks across the West Virginia. The organization was founded in 1992 and has donated 979,549 pounds of venison to West Virginia food banks since then. Their program has grown over the years but has struggled finding places to process the meat.
Pocahontas County High School’s agriculture program will serve as a processing facility for the organization. Students in the agriculture program will assist in skinning, grinding and packaging the meat.
By partnering with this organization, students will gain experience and the agriculture program will receive $2 per pound of processed venison. Each deer processed and donated to food banks will provide about 142 meals and can feed a family for about two and a half weeks.
PCHS will assist the Hunters Helping the Hungry program from the start of deer season until the end of the year and will be accepting unwanted deer beginning this week.