Syracuse.com - Venison Donation Coalition accepting donated venison from CNY hunters

[HuntingNY-News]

Ricardo had one word of caution for those wishing to donate their venison. “Once a hunter takes the processed meat home, we cannot accept it,” he said. “It has to come (to us) directly from one of our processors.”

Each year, a number of hunters donate either whole carcasses or certain cuts of meat off their deer to the Venison Donation Coalition program.

Regardless of the cut of meat, the venison is ground up into hamburger and given to the Food Bank of Central New York for distribution to local food pantries.

Peter Ricardo, product and donation and supply chain specialist, for the Food Bank, said the meat is handed out in two- and five-pound tubes. The Syracuse-based operation covers an 11-county area, stretching from Cortland to St. Lawrence, and from Cayuga to Herkimer counties.

“We do the same with beef. Most people can deal with ground meat. It’s very versatile, not intimidating,” Ricardo said, adding that recipes are also handed out to give folks ideas on how to prepare it.

From Dec. 1, 2010 to Thursday of this week, the local Food Bank, which pays the processors to process the meat, handed out 4,282 pounds of donated venison to pantries for distribution. The Food Bank is often reimbursed its costs by the Venison Donation Coalition, Richardo said.

“They (the pantries) love it,” he said. “We can certainly distribute more than is available.”

Ricardo had one word of caution for those wishing to donate their venison.

“Once a hunter takes the processed meat home, we cannot accept it,” he said. “It has to come (to us) directly from one of our processors.”

Participating processors include:

Cayuga County: Genoa Meats, Genoa, 497-9960; Jon’s Custom Meats, Moravia, 497-0849; Phillips Processing, Cato, 626-3716; Kevin’s Custom Butchering & Meat Cutting, Auburn, 776-8397.

Cortland County: Dave’s Archery & Sports Center, Homer, 607-749-5714; Doug’s Custom Meats, Homer, 607-749-297

Madison County: Marsh Mill Ranch, Kirkville, 633-2888; Ridgeville Farm, Canastota, 697-9647

Onondaga County: Marsh Mill Ranch, Kirkville, 633-2888; G & B Meats, East Syracuse, 656-7066.

Oneida County: Chuck Doris, Clark Mills, 853-2655; Ronald Sealman, Marcy, 865-5898; Schaellers Meat Market, Bridgewater, 822-3924; Curtis Custom Cutting, Verona, 363-2763.

Oswego County: Brenda’s Motel & Campground, Altmar, 298-2268.

For more on the Venison Donation Coalition, see visit the group's Web site. www.venisondonation.org.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog