Sportsmen Against Hunger Program

With most huntable wildlife populations on the rise, annual donations of wild game meat and fish to those in need have increased. Since Safari Club International started the Sportsmen Against Hunger program in 1989, tens of millions of meals have been served at local soup kitchens, food banks, or other charitable organizations, such as The Salvation Army. Donations continue to increase each year. In 2008, 422,047 pounds of wild game meat were donated to relief organizations; in 2009, the figure had jumped to 415,605 pounds. In the 2010 season, we reached a new high of 477,392 pounds--enough for 1.9 million meals.

Some hunters take their harvest to a licensed meat processor, pay for the processing themselves, and then donate the meat to the needy. Other hunters choose to share the meat from their freezers throughout the year. Because the demand for low-fat, low-cholesterol, preservative-free, high-protein meat is so great, these offerings by SCI members are vital to the nutritional success of food banks across America and the world.

Through the international network of SCI chapters, several thousand volunteer members and friends continually explore opportunities to feed the hungry. Usually, most SCI members make individual donations.

As of September 2010, the SCI Foundation has partnered with the Outdoor Channel to host Sportsmen Against Hunger feasts in conjunction with SCI chapters in certain venues nationwide. 

The SCI Foundation has also purchased 20 state-of-the-art Hobart commercial meat grinders for nationwide distribution to well-established relief organizations and soup kitchens to assist them in providing much-needed protein to the hungry in a more economical fashion. To date, 18 of these units have been delivered and the remaining two are in the planning stages. 

Each January, the Sportsmen Against Hunger program partners with The Salvation Army to serve full-course meals to the needy and homeless at our annual "Feed The Hungry Feast" in Reno, Nevada, on the eve of the SCI Hunters' Convention. In 2011, we served 1,300 meals. (2011 photos)

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