Virginia Hunters Who Care Inc

The Hunters for the Hungry program was founded in 1991 by David H. Horne. The mission of the program is to provide high protein venison to those in need through feeding programs that are designed to help those in need at no cost to them. 

For over 33 years, since 1991, the program has now processed and distributed over 7.9 million servings of venison. This amount of meat equates to over 31.7 million quarter pound servings that has been provided in the New River Valley and surrounding areas and throughout Virginia. This high protein lean meat is given to men, women, and children, the elderly, the homeless, and veterans at no cost to them through missions, churches, food banks, pantries and other feeding / distribution agencies that participate with the Hunters for the Hungry program. 

The program accepts deer, through participating processors, that are donated from hunters, farmers, and through herd management efforts by cities and municipalities across the Commonwealth. These deer are skinned, cut, wrapped, and frozen and the meat is then distributed to feeding programs locally that participate with the Hunters for the Hungry program. This high protein essential resource is given to these feeding and distribution agencies at no cost to them in support of their already strained budgets and to provide them with lean red meat which is the hardest for them to acquire.  

Locally, in the New River Valley focus area we have 17 feeding programs working with us. We provide the essential lean venison we produce to the feeding programs in Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski Counties as well as the City of Radford, and surrounding counties and cities as well. This meat is given to them at no cost which assists them with their already strained budgets, provides them with a much needed protein resource, and allows them to care for their clients providing them this lean meat at no cost to them. 

The program is currently processing venison for $1.50 per pound which is .3750 cents per quarter pound serving. For every dollar the program raises or receives they can provide 3 servings. This is very cost effective when compared to similar cuts of beef that are currently running between $5.00 and $22.00 per pound. In 2023 the program distributed a total of 185,685 pounds, 742,740 servings, statewide with 10,471 pounds being distributed in the New River Valley area. This amount equates to 41,884 servings going to those in the community facing hunger. The program has averaged processing and distributing an average of 195,631 quarter pound servings annually over the last 5 years. This amounts to 781,631 quarter pound servings of essential lean protein going to those less fortunate. 

The program's desire is to be able to accept every deer made available to it during the 2023 fiscal year and they must have the funds available to cover the processing costs for these deer. This will allow them to take a renewable natural resource and provide healthy lean red meat meat for our most precious resource, our fellow man.