The tradition of hunting in Kansas is strong with generations of families. Conservation of many hunted species is vital to the landscape in Kansas. Deer populations, specifically, are imperative to control to reduce destruction of farmers’ crops, stymie vehicle collisions, improve funding for conservation programs through hunting licenses and permits and overall promote a balanced, healthy ecosystem.   

Hunting is also a time-honored tradition with families, connecting generations with nature, promoting healthy relationships between man and the food we consume and encouraging positive, responsible practices. This relationship, and the importance of providing food for either your own family or someone else’s, is a deep-rooted part of society.

Recently, hunters, farmers and food banks created a symbiotic and meaningful effort with one goal in mind — help feed hungry people in Kansas communities. Kansas Farm Bureau’s 7th District – Barber, Barton, Comanche, Harper, Kingman, Kiowa, McPherson, Pratt, Reno, Rice and Stafford counties – joined forces with Kansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry (KSHFH) to make positive impacts on food insecurity through a unique, but likely, collaboration.

HUNTERS WITH HEARTS

In 2001, Tony DeRossett read an article in a hunting magazine about a program that was using deer to supply meat to food pantries in Maryland. After a few phone calls, he joined a meeting with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to discuss setting up a similar program in Kansas. DeRossett set a plan into motion and began the nonprofit Kansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry the same year.

With efficiency on his side and passion in his veins, DeRossett started talking to meat processors and brought on 10 who would work with him to process game meat like deer and elk. What started out humble quickly became something popular.

“We had a goal of getting maybe 10 deer donated the first year,” he says. “I think we got 180 deer that first year.”

While that number seems positive, it presented a problem for the new entity.

When Kansas hunters have a deer carcass they want to donate, they take it to a local participating processor. KSHFH pays for processing deer into one- or two-pound packages of burger, then it gets distributed to local food pantries near where the deer or elk was originally donated. For a new nonprofit with limited funds, paying for 180 deer to be processed meant the organization was in the red financially – right off the bat.

DeRossett wrote an article about his dilemma in the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks magazine – and a check came in the mail to cover $10,000 in processing fees.

“You just can't pre-judge who you're going to touch and how you're going to touch them,” DeRossett says. “You can’t predict how or if someone will support you.”

DeRossett says Kansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry gets a small grant from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and hunters can donate $2 or more to the organization when they buy hunting permits, but the rest of his funding is from grants.

“Unlike other charities, promotion is a bit of a double-edged sword,” he says. “Because the more I promote, the more deer I get, regardless of my budget.”

The program only accepts deer donations during deer season, which is September through January.

“All of the deer we get donated is consumed by February,” DeRossett says. “The demand for what we do is unimaginably high.”

PROCESSOR PLIGHT

Funding hurdles aren’t the only ones coming up the track for KSHFH – finding processors who take game meat was another.

“During COVID, there was a surge of people wanting homegrown meat products,” DeRossett says. “The processors were booked out on livestock, so they quit processing deer. Some of them never went back to offering it. Then there was an issue with the rendering plants that take the waste from deer, so they quit taking them in that situation, too. What processors we have is now very limited, but we’re searching.”

One opportunity was to incorporate a snack stick program in Kansas. Once a year, KSHFH will take donated elk to processors to be made into snack sticks. The product is shelf-stable and can be provided in various locations, which DeRossett started by providing them to a school in Bonner Springs and received “rave reviews.”

SNACK STICKS TAKE THE SHELVES

For Kansas Farm Bureau, creating ways its counties can participate in local initiatives to reduce food instability became apparent during COVID. The End Hunger program is a year-long fundraising campaign where funds are then provided to county Farm Bureaus as grants to make direct impacts in their communities.

In KFB’s 7th District, all 11 counties applied for grant dollars to support KSHFH snack sticks to be given to food pantries and school programs in their respective areas.

“In Pratt County, food insecurity continues to impact many local families, especially those living on fixed incomes, experiencing temporary unemployment, or struggling with the rising cost of living,” Anita DeWeese, Pratt County Farm Bureau county coordinator, says. “According to local data and feedback from the Pratt County Food Bank, the need for nutritious, shelf-stable and protein-rich food options remains high. Protein is one of the most in-demand but least-donated food categories, often due to cost and limited availability.”

A perfect solution was the donation of elk meat snack sticks to bridge this gap. Not only do the snack sticks provide a protein source, but counties also included education about game meat to help familiarize people with this additional source of protein available to them.

In other counties, like Barton County, the Farm Bureau donated the snack sticks to a school to include in their weekend backpack program for students to take home meals for the weekends.

“In USD 428, 70 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunches,” Jerry Esfeld, Barton County Farm Bureau county coordinator, says. “These students are coming from families who struggle daily to provide food for their families, especially with the rising cost of living. These snack sticks are included in more than 40 students’ backpacks who participate in the program.”

All it took was an email to set the district in motion. An ask for $150 or more as a donation to KSHFH for a case of 200 elk snack sticks with an opportunity to request matching funds from End Hunger brought in more than $8,500 between all of the counties and 31 cases of high-quality, high-protein snack sticks for area food pantries and schools.

THE REAL REWARD

The impact in dollars is an easy value to grasp. The real value lies in the people benefiting from these programs – the children, the elderly, our neighbors. Although deer or elk meat aren’t the obvious choice of grocery shoppers, they are options that shouldn’t be overlooked.

DeRossett says an average-sized deer will generate approximately 40-50 pounds of meat and each serving is ¼ of a pound – similar to a quarter pounder with cheese you get at your favorite drive-through – which can generate around 200 meals. When people need food, game meat is a protein-rich option necessary for nutrition.

DeRossett has been diligently working on KSHFH since 2001 while also working as a postal service employee. He admits he’s tired, but he says the thing that keeps him going are the thank you notes he’ll receive from hunters looking to connect with nature and with their family.

“I've gotten calls from grandfathers who say, ‘You know, I hunted when I was a kid and now that we have an outlet for the deer meat, I can take my grandson deer hunting,’” DeRossett says. “It's things like that that really get you. And a lot of people in our state and our country love knowing they’re feeding their neighbors and helping out.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Kansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry, visit www.kshfh.org. Donations can be made online or at the Tonganoxie address provided on the website.

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