News release

Hunters Helping the Hungry

Natural Resources (to July 2018)

Nova Scotia hunters will once again help to feed the hungry, through food banks across the province.

This will be the fourth year for the Hunters Helping the Hungry program, through which hunters can help feed hungry families in Nova Scotia by donating deer and moose meat.

"We're pleased to be a partner in a program that helps Nova Scotians," said Natural Resources Minister John MacDonell. "One kilogram at a time, hunters throughout the province are making a significant difference."

"Of the wonderful food support we receive from our many donors, protein is the food group we often struggle with the most," said Dianne Swinemar, executive director of Feed Nova Scotia. "Through Hunters Helping the Hungry, we're starting to turn that around. Last year we received 6,500 servings of meat through the program. This year we're hoping even more hunters will choose to participate."

The process is easy. After registering a moose or deer, hunters take the carcass to one of 18 participating registered meat cutters throughout the province and indicate the amount of meat they would like to donate. Feed Nova Scotia distributes the meat to 150 member food banks.

"We are fortunate to live in a country with wildlife populations abundant enough to be harvested," said Tony Rodgers, executive director of Nova Scotia's Federation of Anglers and Hunters. "A lot of hunters appreciate the opportunity to share this gift with others; and they feel good knowing that through even small donations of meat, they can really make a difference."

Hunters Helping the Hungry is a joint initiative of Feed Nova Scotia and the hunting community, in partnership with the Department of Natural Resources, www.novascotiahunting.com, Eastern Woods and Waters and the Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

For more information on this program and other ways Feed Nova Scotia is helping to feed hungry families, visit www.feednovascotia.ca .