Two Canterbury hunters have donated more than 40,000 meals worth of meat in the last 18 months — and now hope to keep it going.
Hunters Steve Hill and Adam Kreisel have been running Hunters4Hope, an organisation which donates excess game to the Hope Community Trust.
The pair have five freezer bins across Canterbury, where hunters can drop off their meat before it is taken to a local butcher.
They have donated nearly 3500kg of meat to date, roughly 40,000 meals.
When asked why he and Kreisel started Hunters4Hope, Hill said: “We found that we were getting a lot of surplus venison from our own hunting and we figured that if we’re getting surplus venison, then so are other hunters.
“So, we figured it was a good opportunity to try and put the venison together, collate it, and give it to those who are a bit less fortunate.”
The group’s most recent haul was made up of donated deer from a North Canterbury hunting competition over the weekend.
He said the donation was made up of 2030kg of mince and 145kg of back steak.
“We weren’t really sure of how many deer we’d got until we got through the processing.”
Hill and Kreisel pay for everything themselves, which is why they are trying to apply for charity status.
He said this would make it easier for them to attract corporations to donate to or sponsor the work they are doing.
“It’s grown beyond a couple of guys with an idea and getting a wee bit of mince here and there to the food bank to a reasonably big monster,” he said.
“Which will also allow us to delegate some of those jobs, like running around and picking up venison.”
Tracy Pirie of the Hope Community Trust said the hunters’ work was vital, as her work has “changed”.
“Even a year ago, it was quite easy to see who had the need, but now, need is hidden, and you can’t walk along the street and know if someone is hungry.
“We don’t wait for people to come to us. We actually go to them.”
Asked how people can help the hunters with their efforts, Hill said to get in touch with them and that “any donation is appreciated”.
