1. NewsLibrary: Document Display
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=print&p_docid=14983ABF17025D98[8/13/2015 1:23:19 PM]
NewsBank InfoWeb
NewsLibrary
Estimated printed pages: 6
Post-Tribune (IN)
October 18, 2013
Section: Hunting/On Target
Page: 24
Topics:
Index Terms:
MEAT,HUNGRY,TREESH,FEEDING,DONATED,HUNTERS,DEER,INDIANA,PARTICIPATING,BUTCHERS
Hunters help feed the hungry
Author: Carly A. Mullady
For Sun-Times Media
Article Text:
Every once in a while, a certain aspect of a sport or hobby can benefit a cause, making a pastime even
more fulfilling.
That’s the case for Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry, where Executive Director Debra Treesh says hunters can
use their skills to help supply food banks throughout Indiana.
“We’ve been doing the Feeding the Hungry program for about eight years,” she said. “It started nationally,
and then we did it on our own so that we could keep the money and meat here in Indiana.”
Game meat is donated to participating butchers, who prepare the meat and then donate it to area food
banks. There are 93 participating butcher shops across the state.
Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry pays for the processing of meat, whether it is game donated by hunters or
livestock donated by farmers.
Farmers donating livestock may get a receipt for their donation and write it off on their taxes.
“For hunters, if they get additional deer, they can donate it,” she said. “A lot of guys, they love the meat
and they love the sport of it, too. So, knowing they can go enjoy what they are doing and give, too, that
adds to it.”
The Department of Natural Resources has said the deer herd is overpopulated. Hunters reducing the herd
can purportedly help prevent disease among the animals, the spread of deer ticks, which carry Lyme
Disease, and unnecessary deer-motor vehicle accidents.
“By reducing the herd, we can feed the hungry as well,” Treesh said. “So, it’s a win-win.”
Tremendous growth
Originally, Treesh’s program was specific to DeKalb county. Soon she and her family were able to expand it
2. NewsLibrary: Document Display
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=print&p_docid=14983ABF17025D98[8/13/2015 1:23:19 PM]
to nine counties, and now it’s the whole state.
Participating butchers determine how to make the most of each donation, which is typically grinding the
meat. It is then donated to nearby shelters. “Last year we got 63,000 pounds of meat, about a quarter
million meals donated; we figure the average sized portion is a quarter-pound,” Treesh said.
“The first year we did only 250 pounds, so we’ve had quite a growth.”
Treesh started the program when she was looking for volunteer work as her kids got older.
Her involvement with food banks taught her both the need for protein and meats as well as some ideas for
finding grants for important causes. Her husband gave her the idea of donating game to food pantries, and
she used what she learned from her volunteer experience to get the ball rolling.
“My husband and the kids hunt, so it was a great thing because I could get the kids participating, too,” she
said.
Most of the donated meat is pork and venison, with venison making up 80 percent of the contribution.
Donated meat goes to 11 food banks and 1,700 food pantries across Indiana, including Feeding Indiana’s
Hungry (FISH), which is statewide, Feeding America, which goes to the suburbs of Northwest Indiana, and
the Northern Foodbank, in Northern Indiana.
“I wasn’t sure how receptive they’d be to deer meat, people from the city, but it goes out really fast,”
Treesh said. “We have it prepared at state-inspected butcher shops. It’s prepared properly. Once people
realize, it’s like, ‘Yeah, let’s get some of that.’
“It’s meat. For the food banks, it’s hard to get.”
How it works
Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry pays the butchers for the processing, which cost around $75,000 last year. It
averages $1.35 per pound.
“We have such minimal overhead, it’s ridiculous,” Treesh said.
Money is raised through grants, fundraising, and word of mouth.
There were 804 participating hunters last year. Hunters need only follow DNR regulations and bring legally
tagged deer to participating butchers to donate. Participating butchers may be found at the Hoosiers
Feeding the Hungry website: hoosiersfeedingthehungry.org.
The group is looking for volunteers to help coordinate butchers, get flyers out, and help spread the word.
More information is with Debra Treesh at (260) 541-0365 or at hoosiersfeedingthehungry.org.
Memo:
Pull Quote: “I wasn’t sure how receptive they’d be to deer meat, people from the city, but it goes out really
fast.”
Debra Treesh, executive director of Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry
‘I wasn’t sure how receptive they’d be to deer meat, people from the city, but it goes out really fast.’
Debra Treesh, executive director of Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry
Fact Box:
Copyright, 2013, Post-Tribune. All rights reserved. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED.
![NewsLibrary: Document Display
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=print&p_docid=14983ABF17025D98[8/13/2015 1:23:19 PM]
NewsBank InfoWeb
NewsLibrary
Estimated printed pages: 6
Post-Tribune (IN)
October 18, 2013
Section: Hunting/On Target
Page: 24
Topics:
Index Terms:
MEAT,HUNGRY,TREESH,FEEDING,DONATED,HUNTERS,DEER,INDIANA,PARTICIPATING,BUTCHERS
Hunters help feed the hungry
Author: Carly A. Mullady
For Sun-Times Media
Article Text:
Every once in a while, a certain aspect of a sport or hobby can benefit a cause, making a pastime even
more fulfilling.
That’s the case for Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry, where Executive Director Debra Treesh says hunters can
use their skills to help supply food banks throughout Indiana.
“We’ve been doing the Feeding the Hungry program for about eight years,” she said. “It started nationally,
and then we did it on our own so that we could keep the money and meat here in Indiana.”
Game meat is donated to participating butchers, who prepare the meat and then donate it to area food
banks. There are 93 participating butcher shops across the state.
Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry pays for the processing of meat, whether it is game donated by hunters or
livestock donated by farmers.
Farmers donating livestock may get a receipt for their donation and write it off on their taxes.
“For hunters, if they get additional deer, they can donate it,” she said. “A lot of guys, they love the meat
and they love the sport of it, too. So, knowing they can go enjoy what they are doing and give, too, that
adds to it.”
The Department of Natural Resources has said the deer herd is overpopulated. Hunters reducing the herd
can purportedly help prevent disease among the animals, the spread of deer ticks, which carry Lyme
Disease, and unnecessary deer-motor vehicle accidents.
“By reducing the herd, we can feed the hungry as well,” Treesh said. “So, it’s a win-win.”
Tremendous growth
Originally, Treesh’s program was specific to DeKalb county. Soon she and her family were able to expand it](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/1b6d3353-22ff-47c7-8e76-2617d70ead35-150819165800-lva1-app6892/85/HoosiersFeedHungry-1-320.jpg)
![NewsLibrary: Document Display
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=print&p_docid=14983ABF17025D98[8/13/2015 1:23:19 PM]
to nine counties, and now it’s the whole state.
Participating butchers determine how to make the most of each donation, which is typically grinding the
meat. It is then donated to nearby shelters. “Last year we got 63,000 pounds of meat, about a quarter
million meals donated; we figure the average sized portion is a quarter-pound,” Treesh said.
“The first year we did only 250 pounds, so we’ve had quite a growth.”
Treesh started the program when she was looking for volunteer work as her kids got older.
Her involvement with food banks taught her both the need for protein and meats as well as some ideas for
finding grants for important causes. Her husband gave her the idea of donating game to food pantries, and
she used what she learned from her volunteer experience to get the ball rolling.
“My husband and the kids hunt, so it was a great thing because I could get the kids participating, too,” she
said.
Most of the donated meat is pork and venison, with venison making up 80 percent of the contribution.
Donated meat goes to 11 food banks and 1,700 food pantries across Indiana, including Feeding Indiana’s
Hungry (FISH), which is statewide, Feeding America, which goes to the suburbs of Northwest Indiana, and
the Northern Foodbank, in Northern Indiana.
“I wasn’t sure how receptive they’d be to deer meat, people from the city, but it goes out really fast,”
Treesh said. “We have it prepared at state-inspected butcher shops. It’s prepared properly. Once people
realize, it’s like, ‘Yeah, let’s get some of that.’
“It’s meat. For the food banks, it’s hard to get.”
How it works
Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry pays the butchers for the processing, which cost around $75,000 last year. It
averages $1.35 per pound.
“We have such minimal overhead, it’s ridiculous,” Treesh said.
Money is raised through grants, fundraising, and word of mouth.
There were 804 participating hunters last year. Hunters need only follow DNR regulations and bring legally
tagged deer to participating butchers to donate. Participating butchers may be found at the Hoosiers
Feeding the Hungry website: hoosiersfeedingthehungry.org.
The group is looking for volunteers to help coordinate butchers, get flyers out, and help spread the word.
More information is with Debra Treesh at (260) 541-0365 or at hoosiersfeedingthehungry.org.
Memo:
Pull Quote: “I wasn’t sure how receptive they’d be to deer meat, people from the city, but it goes out really
fast.”
Debra Treesh, executive director of Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry
‘I wasn’t sure how receptive they’d be to deer meat, people from the city, but it goes out really fast.’
Debra Treesh, executive director of Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry
Fact Box:
Copyright, 2013, Post-Tribune. All rights reserved. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED.](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)