Indianapolis, In. — The NRA Foundation recently awarded Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry a grant to be used to serve Indiana residents. These funds will help Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry pay processing fees for large game and livestock donations within Indiana. The processed meat will then be given to area hunger-relief agencies.
Founded in 2011, Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry asks area hunters and farmers to take their large game or livestock to a participating meat processor where the donation is processed, packaged and frozen at no cost (plus, farmers may write off the fair market value on their taxes). Local hunger-relief agencies will be contacted for pick up and distribution of this nutritious protein back into the community. “We are very excited about our “Meat” the Need program,” said Debra Treesh, Executive Director of Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry. “We’re pleased that the NRA Foundation is continually willing to make an investment in the community.”
Lack of food does not only affect the homeless or unemployed. The economy may be showing signs of improvement but many hardworking Hoosiers are still living paycheck to paycheck, regularly having to choose between paying bills, obtaining medicine or buying groceries. In these homes, an unexpected bill of any sort (like a major car repair or medical bill) can throw an already tight budget into a downward spiral. According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap, 31% of working Indiana residents who are food insecure do not qualify for food-assistance programs. These residents have to turn to charitable food assistance networks such as food banks, pantries, hunger ministries, etc… And the hardest commodity for food banks to obtain? Protein, a nutrient that is part of every cell in your body and vital to brain/body development.
More than 300,000 Indiana children have no idea where their next meal is coming from…
“The grant provided by this store will pay to process about 750 pounds of donated large game and livestock, which will then be distributed to area hunger-relief agencies – providing almost 3,000 meals to residents in need within our communities,” said Treesh. In the last seven years, Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry has helped to distribute approximately 1.2 million pounds of meat to Indiana food banks, providing over 5 million meals to Hoosiers in need. “To date, we have 83 participating meat processors working within 85 counties in Indiana to aid us in our mission and to ensure residents in need are served,” shared Amber Zecca, Fund Development Director of Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry.
On average, the cost of this donated meat is about $1.30 per pound, which is less than $.30 per meal!
Established in 1990, The NRA Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that raises tax-deductible contributions in support of a wide range of firearm-related public interest activities of the National Rifle Association of America and other organizations that defend and foster the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans. These activities are designed to promote firearm and hunting safety, to enhance marksmanship skills of those participating in the shootings sports, and to educate the general public about firearms in their historic, technological, and artistic context. More information about The NRA Foundation can be found online here.
