Hunters for the Hungry: 33 Years of Caring for Virginians in Need!   

By Denny Quaiff

During the summer of 1991, I met David Horne. David had called and asked if he could sit down and talk with me about a program called Hunters for the Hungry (HFTH) that was being set up to provide venison to the needy citizens of Virginia. I remember David saying, “I just left the Game Department headquarters in Richmond, and you are the second person that I’ve talked with about this.” As president of the Virginia Deer Hunters Association at the time, I was eager to find out more.

I remember our conversation very well. While sitting at the kitchen table in my home, David explained that he was following a program that had started in Texas. The Lone Star State had done a total of 7,500 pounds in their first year and David set our goal to be 15,000. David believed in our Virginia deer hunters and figured we could do twice as much as anything Texas could do. He had a lot of insight with his planning objectives and by the first week of firearms season, we had met our first-year goal.

The program was off to a fast start, and David increased the first-year target to 30,000 pounds, which seemed very ambitious. However, by the end of deer season. More than 33,000 pounds of venison was available for distribution to the less fortunate. The high protein and nutritious red meat the program provided was truly a blessing. Our Virginia Hunters for the Hungry program had made its mark.

There was no rest though, and in 1992 David continued getting the word out. He added a few more meat processors and increased the venison donated to 68,000 pounds. The program was growing faster than anyone had dreamed, with over 100,000 pounds of meat processed and distributed after only two years.

On February 14, 2002, David passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. During the early days of David’s leadership, the Virginia Hunters for the Hungry program had become well respected statewide. The program had grown to be one of the largest of its kind in the country. David had rightfully become a friend to our deer hunters and Virginia’s wildlife resources.

Laura Newell-Furniss, a former director for Hunters for the Hungry, served as David’s assistant during those early years. “When we first started, we both thought it was going to be a part-time job, and that he’d have time for hunting and I’d have lots of time for raising my daughter, who was born the same year the program started,” Laura recalled. “We both learned that getting this program up and running was going to take many more hours than we expected.

“In the early years, we would loan the company money to keep it going. David was correct about the generosity of Virginia hunters. The hunters of Virginia donated 33,000 pounds of meat that first year and we knew it was just the beginning,” Laura continued. “David was a gifted problem-solver, a man you could count on to do what he said he would do. He had the ability to let you know that whatever you did made a difference: whether it was a financial gift to cover processing fees on donated deer, an article spreading the word about the program, hours volunteering at a fundraiser, a discount off the normal fee for processing or getting your organization involved in supporting the mission of our charity. Whatever a person did to help, they would receive a thoughtful, sincere, and often handwritten letter of thanks. He was very thankful to the hunters and financial donors who made it possible to get this high-quality food to people in need.”

Laura took over as director when David passed, and the program continued moving forward with her strong leadership. “It was heartbreaking to lose David,” she said. “He was a dear friend as well as the face and the beloved founder of the program. I was very thankful that from the beginning he had shared with me his thinking, his values, and his vision of what the program could accomplish. I was grateful to the many people who offered their continuing support and encouragement during that time.”

Laura went on to say, “Mitzi Boyd came to work for the program the month after David passed and just this year retired after 22 years of service. David’s widow, Debbie, also joined the staff and made a crucial difference during the critical two years after his passing. I tried my best to keep the program going in the ways David had established, paying attention to operating both cost-effectively and compassionately. David had always said he thought the program could provide a million servings a year and we did that for the first time in 2002, the year he passed.” Laura concluded by saying, “The program now is in the capable hands of Gary Arrington and Amy Clark, both of whom loved David and had the good fortune to spend time with and learn from him.”

Gary Arrington is the current Hunters for the Hungry director in Virginia, and he works very closely with the hunting community. Gary talks with hunters throughout the state and hears a lot of positive support for the program. Gary tells us, “The Hunters for the Hungry program has been blessed with the support from hunters and non-hunters alike, allowing the program to operate for over 32 years. Through this cooperative effort, the program has been able to process and distribute over 7.9 million pounds of venison—over 31.7 million quarter-pound servings—of high protein, lean, red meat going to men, women, children, the elderly, the homeless, and military veterans throughout Virginia.”

Gary expanded on some of the greatest demands he experiences throughout the year.. “While raising the necessary funding is a daily challenge to ensure we have the dollars in place to accept every deer made available to us, over the last few years the program has encountered several new challenges,” Gary explained. “First, and probably the most impacting, is the fact that the program continues to lose participating processors. The guys and gals who have been processing for many, many, years are aging out and retiring with no one to fill their shoes. Butchering is a dying profession!

“Second, with the onset of the pandemic in 2020, many individuals and families found they could not rely on their local grocery store to acquire essential lean red meat for their diets due to the cost and availability of beef. Many went back to hunting or began to keep more deer for themselves and their families, thus fewer deer being available for Hunters for the Hungry. This issue has been a challenge every year since,” Gary noted. “Third, the number of hunters has steadily declined over the last five to 10 years, and it has been a challenge for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to recruit new hunters. Many young folks are just not taking up the tradition. Fewer hunters again affect the HFTH program with the number of deer that are donated. The number of deer harvested annually directly affects the overall number made available for the program.”

Gary is aiming to steer Hunters for the Hungry in Virginia through these challenges. “While the need for the God-given, renewable natural resource we provide is increasing in demand, our society is rapidly changing culturally,” he said. “In the future, we anticipate the number of hunters to decline even further, along with the fact that deer numbers will also continue to decline statewide through the management plan established by DWR.” Gary closed by saying, “We are somewhat concerned the annual number of pounds that we can produce will continue to decline. However, we are excited about the ability we have shown to sustain through COVID and all the cultural changes. Our Hunters for the Hungry Program proudly continues to provide an essential healthy food resource to those who struggle with hunger now and into the future.”

It has been most satisfying to know that the hunting community has continued to be the mainstay behind our Hunters for the Hungry program. In 2016 the Virginia Hound Heritage Foundation was established. This foundation and its affiliate hunt clubs have provided hundreds of pounds of venison and strong financial support. With their fundraising efforts, the organization has purchased several refrigerated trailers. These refrigeration coolers are posted at hunt clubs and special events during hunting season for hunters to drop off their donated deer. In recent years the Virginia Hound Heritage Foundation has been a strong support team. We are very appreciative of their most meaningful involvement.

When we talk about financial support, the rate for processing has continued to increase and currently the average cost per deer is $60. Our Virginia Deer Hunters Association takes pride in our backing of Hunters for the Hungry, which started with our first donation in 1993. Over the years we have bestowed gifts of over $73,000 to the grant. We believe charity starts at home and knowing that these funds are going to Virginians struggling with hunger has been our long-term commitment.

Looking back to that summer afternoon 33 years ago, meeting with David has proven to be a very rewarding experience. I remember thinking that this new program sounded like an excellent way for hunters to put something back into their community and show the non-hunting public that hunters are truly a caring group. Today my hope from back in the day has become a reality. After more than three decades of caring for the needy and less fortunate citizens of our great Commonwealth, Hunters for the Hungry continues to champion this pledge!

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Editor’s note: Gary Arrington, Director HFTH, welcomes questions and comments from readers at hunt4hungry@cs.com or 434-299-6050.  Tax deductible donation can be mailed to the charity at Hunters for the Hungry, P. O. Box 304, Big Island, VA 24526.