The NRA is celebrating the heart of the hunter this month as it marks America’s 2nd Annual National Wild Game Meat Donation Month (NWGMD) to recognize the hunters across America who donate millions of pounds of nutritious game meat to their local Hunters for the Hungry (HFH) programs each year. As news of this worthy initiative spreads, the NRA is pleased to announce that nine U.S. governors are joining the NRA in observing NGMDM 2024.
Standing with the NRA to champion hunters and encourage us all to share our surplus venison and other game meat, the following nine governors are signing Game Meat Donation Month proclamations in November: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves; Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin; West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice; and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, who also stood with hunters and proclaimed Wyoming Wild Game Meat Donation Month in 2023.
Regardless of their state’s HFH program name—Hunters for the Hungry, Hunters Helping the Hungry, Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, Hunters Against Hunger, Sportsmen Against Hunger, Hunters Who Care, Hunters Sharing the Harvest and others—all are united over a common goal: to provide a vital source of nutritious wild game meat for those living in hunger. Attesting to the urgency of hunters’ cause, Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, reports that hunger is a reality for one in seven Americans.
The governors’ proclamations applaud hunters for donating their surplus game meat and encourage us all to do the same as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving and the season of giving. With hunting now enshrined in 23 state constitutions—thanks in large part to the work of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action—the proclamations underscore how legal, regulated hunting is a vital wildlife management tool while offering opportunities to connect with nature and provide food security and nutrition to hunters and those less fortunate.
They highlight the number of residents who struggle with food insecurity in their states and reference recent NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum (HLF) research documenting the fact that while American hunters share 119 million pounds of harvested game meat with people outside their households each year, many meat processors in 2022 said they did not receive enough game meat to fulfill their missions—while others had to turn away some of the donated deer due to limited resources.
The proclamations also call attention to the fact state wildlife agencies are funded largely by hunters as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cites that nearly a billion dollars or more in Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act funding (commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act) goes back to the states each year for their wildlife and habitat conservation programs. This is thanks to the “user pays, public benefits” system known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
American hunters began mobilizing in the early 1990s to make a difference where they hunt and where they live, presenting HFH as a common-sense solution to addressing hunger. With many hunters able to harvest more than they can eat or share with friends and family, hunters, meat processors, meat inspectors and hunger relief organizations began spearheading cooperative efforts to accept hunters’ generous game meat donations for processing and distribution to needy families.
During this time, the NRA launched its HFH Clearinghouse to put interested individuals in touch with local programs while assisting with public awareness and fundraising. Thirty-plus years later, the NRA has donated nearly $700,000 to support their efforts.
While there are more than 40 unique HFH programs nationwide that have provided 40-plus-million pounds of wild game meat to needy families, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and food banks, they operate with limited funding. To help ensure these programs do not fall victim to their own success, the NRA provides an HFH Subsidy Program with considerable grant money donated by the NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum (HLF). Provided in amounts up to $2,000 each year, funds are used to help HFH processors cover the processing, shipping and distribution of donated game meat.
One does not have to be a hunter to appreciate hunters’ profound impact in aiding those less fortunate not just in November but all year round. As we count our blessings this Thanksgiving, let us give thanks for the generosity of hunters, who continue to bless those less fortunate, embody the spirit of giving and illustrate the inherent connection between our actions and the world around us.
To get involved in a HFH group in your area, please visit hfth.nra.org.
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