Hunterdon County Commissioners recognize Hunters Helping The Hungry on their 25th Anniversary

HUNTERDON COUNTY, NJ – The Hunterdon County Commissioners recently presented members of Hunters Helping the Hungry (HHH) with a proclamation in recognition of the organization’s 25th Anniversary.

HHH was developed by three hunters during the 1997-1998 hunting season to help provide needed protein for local food banks while addressing the overpopulation of deer in the community.

Commissioner Director Jeff Kuhl presented the proclamation and shared, “On behalf of myself and the entire Board, I would like to congratulate the members of the Hunters Helping the Hungry program for their participation in addressing food insecurities not only in Hunterdon County, but across New Jersey. This organization is to be commended for their commitment to helping provide a valuable food product for our food bank system.”

In 1997, the New Jersey State Senate and General Assembly passed a series of bills that Governor Whitman signed into law, establishing a venison donation program. These laws, along with the Food Bank Good American Act, helped pace the way for the Hunters Helping the Hungry program.

In 1999, four Hunterdon County residents, Les Giese, Joe Schultz, Mike Aversa, and John Person, started Hunters Helping the Hungry, a non-profit organization which is partnered with the State Federation of Sportsmen Clubs, as well as the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. HHH has grown to be a statewide organization and donates close to 30,000 pounds of venison, equating to 120,000 meals to the less fortunate.

Statewide Hunters Helping the Hungry has a network of 7 state inspection butchers who process venison. In Hunterdon County there are three processing shops, ‘GameButchers’in Lebanon, operated by J.B. Person; ‘V Roche Butcher Shop,’ of Whitehouse Station, and ‘Hunterdon Deer Butcher,’ in Franklin Township.

For more information about Hunters Helping the Hungry visit www.huntershelpingthehungry.org.