The Deer Project is in its third year, and this year promises to be the most successful ever thanks to a favorable response from the hunting community and dynamic fundraising efforts of Good Samaritan Ministries and its supporters.

Deer season is here once again and as avid hunters are pulling out their non-scented soap to wash the layers of camouflage clothing, cleaning guns and readying to purchase hunting license, think about the best use of those deer tags.

Once you’ve filled your freezer or mounted that prize buck, consider using the rest of your tags to donate lean protein to your friends and neighbors who have fallen on hard times.

Through The Deer Project, hunters team together with Good Samaritan Ministries to provide a healthy source of protein to fill the plates of the hungry in Brown County.

What an opportunity that works so well for so many people!  Hunters want to hunt, the hungry need to eat!

And this year, GSM has made it even easier for everyone!  Through fundraising projects like the Cow Pasture Golf event and donations from faithful supporters, hunters no longer have to worry about calling to check if money is available for processing or footing the bill themselves.  This year, GSM will cover the cost of processing.  All hunters need to do is take the field dressed deer to one of the participating processors and tell them they’d like to donate it to The Deer Project.  Simple.  No hassles.

The processors participating with The Deer Project are M&M Processing in Zephyr, Ted’s Deer Processing in Owens and Santa Anna Wild Game Processing in Santa Anna.

The 2009 hunting season brought in 6,049 pounds of meat to the freezers of the Good Samaritan Ministries and ultimately to the plates of the hungry in Brown County.  Last year’s harvest provided 24,196 meals!

The Good Samaritan Ministries would like to double what was raised last year to bring in 12,000 pounds of processed venison and need the help of local hunting enthusiasts to meet that goal.

As of November 9, 2010, the GSM has collected 1,226 pounds of venison!  Good Samaritan Ministries still need people willing to donate monetarily to the project as well so that the processing can continue to be free.  The processors are willing to only charge $1 per one pound of venison so donations in any amount will go a long way!

For more information about The Deer Project, please call GSM at 325-643-2273.