'Hunt for the Hungry' on track to break record Lee Dudek (photo by H. Marc Larson). The program is receiving venison from hunters and providing it to needy families By Michelle Kennedy News-Chronicle After being laid off for several months, Don Chancey of Forestville is looking forward to starting a new job. He stopped at Paul's Pantry on Wednesday to help his family get by until paychecks start coming in again, and he was surprised to see venison among the offerings. "I've never eaten it before," he said. "But we're going to learn to." That's the attitude many visitors to Paul's Pantry have about eating donated venison, said Bonnie Johnson, a volunteer at the pantry. "Not too many are worried about (chronic wasting disease)," she said. "They're more worried about feeding their families." Lee Dudek, program director for Hunt for the Hungry, said deer hunters have risen to the challenge and understood the need to keep the herd down despite concerns about CWD and a drop in the purchase of hunting licenses. "This is the eighth year for the Hunt for the Hungry Program," Dudek said. "But Leo Frigo (founder of Paul's Pantry) took deer donations long before that. Hunt for the Hungry really just came along to promote the idea among all hunters." So far, Hunt for the Hungry has taken in 450 deer this season and if this rate continues, Dudek said, they should break their previous record, set in 2000, of 1,064 deer. Hunt for the Hungry also takes in other types of packaged meat, such as wild game. Last year more than 30,000 pounds of wild-game meat was donated. "We will take as many deer as hunters wish to donate," Dudek said. "There is no cost to the hunter beyond the cost of the license and what it takes to hunt the deer." Processing fees are paid for by independent sponsors and excess funds in the state crop-damage program. Hunters also have the opportunity to donate money when they apply for licenses. "It is really a win-win situation," Dudek said. "The deer herd is reduced, hunters get the opportunity to hunt more, and needy families receive food they enjoy." Johnson said many Paul's Pantry shoppers ask for venison, and the supply usually runs out by early spring. "We hope to build more of an inventory this year," Dudek said. "We have found that seven out of the 10 families who shop here are utilizing it." Dudek said Paul's Pantry is offering informational brochures about CWD to shoppers with concerns about contracting the human form of the disease. The part of a deer or elk that is infected with CWD, such as the brain, eyeballs, tonsils, spinal cord, spleen or lymph nodes, are not normally consumed. Believing the rest of a deer is safe to eat, Chancey took his allotted amount of venison Wednesday. "I'm grateful that there are hunters out there willing to donate it," he said. "As for CWD, I think we'll be fine." FYI Deer drop off sites: Paul's Pantry, 1528 Leo Frigo Way Mueller Meat Market, 1944 University Ave., 437-3665 Easy Street Meats, 4811 N. County P, 866-2461