The Northeastern REMC Community Trust/Operation Round Up recently awarded Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry a grant to be used to serve residents in need within their service area. These funds will help Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry pay processing fees for large game and livestock donations within Allen, Huntington, Kosciusko, Noble, Wabash, and Whitley County. 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 Northeastern REMC 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 the REMC Community Trust 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 eight years, Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry has helped to distribute approximately 1.3 million pounds of meat to Indiana food banks, providing over 5.1 million meals to Hoosiers in need. “To date, we have 88 participating meat processors working within 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. “In this area, we are partnering with eleven local meat processors, Community Harvest Food Bank, and other local hunger-relief agencies to ensure residents have access to this nutritious protein.”

On average, the cost of this donated meat is about $1.30 per pound, which is less than $.30 per meal!

Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry is accepting donations to fund our “Meat” the Need program throughout Indiana and is continuously looking for volunteers to help us in our efforts to feed the hungry and reduce hunger issues throughout Indiana. For more information on the Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry program, its services and to find participating meat processors in your area, or to find out how you can help, please visit www.HoosiersFeedingtheHungry.org.