Hunt To Feed Recieves NRA Grant

NEWS RELEASE

HUNT TO FEED RECIEVES NRA GRANT

Contact: Joe Tucker
Telephone: 203-305-3874
www.HuntToFeed.com

Hunt To Feed-Hunters Helping the Hungry announces their receipt of a $2,000 Grant from the NRA Foundation.
Hunt to Feed is a program designed first and foremost to raise funds to allow any Connecticut State hunter the ability to donate their harvest to help feed those in need by absorbing all the processing and distribution costs. Since 2006 it has extended itself from the discussion tables on how to properly control and manage an ever-growing Connecticut deer population problem all the way to the dinner tables of our local soup kitchens that nourish the hungry.
According to USDA statistics 283,000 Connecticut residents (men, women, children and the elderly) are food insecure. With the state’s growing economic crisis more and more families are turning to their local food pantries for assistance. In 2008 a total of 64 deer (2,000 pounds or 8,000 meals) were donated directly to the CT Food Bank through the Hunt To Feed program. That’s an increase of 65% from the previous year and it is expected to be even higher this year.
Over-population of deer in Connecticut is a serious problem in so many ways. For humans, some of the more obvious dangers are deer to car collisions, (18,000 per year in CT), tick born diseases (29,000 cases of Lyme disease since 1996), and deforestation. According to the CT DEP, deer can eat 5-10 lbs of forage per day. Overabundant deer herds can eliminate native plant species and change the structure and diversity of plant communities. Changes in the structure and diversity of plant communities affect the diversity and abundance of other wildlife species such as mammals and birds.
For deer, living in an over-populated environment lends itself to a potentially unhealthy herd. Deer face disease, starvation, unhealthy and smaller offspring with sometimes painful and decreased life spans.
As hunters in a state with areas of deer over-population, the state promotes deer management through Connecticut’s “Replacement Antlerless Tag” and “Earn-A-Buck” programs. This cooperation can do so much more overall good than harm. Couple this with the Hunt To Feed managed meat donation arm to feed the hungry and grants like this from the NRA Foundation you have a complete cycle of life, end-to-end.
For more information please contact Joe Tucker at 203-305-3874 or go to the Hunt To Feed website at

www.HuntToFeed.com.