Representative Seeks Funding for Sportsmen Against Hunger
Yesterday, Rep. Cam Cavitt (R-Cheboygan) announced that he is seeking appropriations to support Sportsmen Against Hunger in the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Cavitt said in a press release that Sportsmen Against Hunger (SAH) is an important deer management tool and that farmers are harvesting deer year-round.
“People harvest deer year-round. Whether it’s farmers with nuisance licenses or a surplus of deer during hunting season, there are always extra deer that need to be processed,” said Cavitt. “MSAH gets the deer to processors and ensures all resulting venison gets to the dinner tables of people who need it.”
MSAH is a 501c3 non-profit contracted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to facilitate the Sportsmen Against Hunger program, a statutorily created program. MSAH was founded in 1991 and has distributed over 1.1 million pounds of food, providing hot meals to over 4.6 million Michiganders.
MUCC was a founding board member of MSAH and continues to help support this mission.
Shortly before the 2023 deer season, the DNR instituted new policies on meat donation, requiring testing for chronic wasting disease (CWD) and bovine tuberculosis (bTB). The new guidelines stressed the program, highlighting the need for some permanent solutions.
The DNR could use the funding to acquire refrigerated trailers to ease storage needs for processors, increase payments to processors for enrolling in the program, and cover shipping costs for CWD and bTB testing.
To secure the funding, the program needs a champion in the legislature, said MUCC Policy and Government Affairs Manager Justin Tomei.
“The work that MSAH and the DNR do is invaluable both as a humanitarian effort and deer management tool,” Tomei said. “Sportsmen Against Hunger needs a champion in the legislature, and Rep. Cavitt has stepped up to bat. We hope to continue to broaden this support in a bipartisan fashion.”
Work on the fiscal year budget will conclude in June; stay tuned to MUCC for updates on this funding request and the budget.
To ensure our natural resources remain protected and managed thoughtfully and our outdoor heritage defended, join Michigan United Conservation Clubs today: http://bit.ly/JoinMUCC.
