HUNT. FISH. FEED. Once Again Serves Up Goodwill In St. Paul

The popular outreach program that takes protein (venison, fish and fowl) donated by sportsmen and turns it into a gift of kindness to help those less fortunate in the community arrived in St. Paul this past Monday.   Of the approximately 50 such events that have been held around the country, this marked the second time (since 2010) where volunteers from the outdoor television industry rolled up their sleeves and donned aprons for a good cause.

The concept of HUNT. FISH. FEED. first began with the Sportsman Channel launching the initiative back in 2007 and has since served up several thousand meals in an effort to end hunger.   Not only does it show sportsman doing something positive to give back to the local community, but it allows television executives, TV personalities, local politicians and others an opportunity to see first-hand how people continue to need such assistance.

Back in 2010 I was fortunate to first experience one of these events at the Catholic Charities Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul.   At the time, my entire family assisted in both the preparation and the clean-up of the charity meal conducted by HUNT. FISH. FEED.   I must say how even though this is a one-meal effort and the need continues daily, there is something quite humbling to witness how certain segments of humanity depend greatly on such volunteer efforts.   It changes how your perceive the world.   And I dare say, it warms the heart in ways very few other volunteer efforts can achieve.

This time around, however, I was invited to the event to just cover all the good deeds going on.   In fact, Michelle Scheuermann and I conducted a quick podcast with some special guests that will be posting soon — stay tuned.   On that podcast we talk briefly about HUNT. FISH. FEED., but mostly we talk with some wild cooking notables who share some great insight on how to best prepare wild game.

If you ever get the opportunity in your local community to volunteer with any such charity work I encourage you to give it a try.   And if you are part of a sportsman group and can parlay that effort into a more positive image for sportsmen, even more power to you.   At the very least, every sportsman should consider perhaps donating some of their wild game to a local food shelf.   Some states and localities might have certain restrictions on you doing that, but at the very least check it out as the need continues to exist.

In closing, here are some pictures from Monday’s event held at the Catholic Charities Dorothy Day Center:

Here The Sporting Chef, Scott Leysath, stirs up some hearty venison chili that will be served to all guests.

Volunteers form a production line to fill each tray with salads, fruit, cheese bread, venison chili, chocolate brownie and milk.

All in all over 200 people were served in downtown St. Paul on this day.

Moments before food service began, Scott Leysath took a moment to discuss the HUNT. FISH. FEED. program with St. Paul Mayor, Chris Coleman.

The many volunteers who made this day possible.