News & Updates

by Josh Wilson
​
Sometimes a small change can produce big results. Finding gas a few cents per gallon cheaper can save a dollar on a fill up. And packing a lunch instead of getting a fast food burger can save hundreds over the course of a year. But how could a small change in deer donations feed millions of hungry people?

Recently our friends at the National Deer Alliance (NDA) posed two survey questions about sharing meat with others. The first asked about sharing meat with friends and family – which well over half of the responders indicated they have done. The second asked about sharing deer with an organized venison donation program. Just over one out of ten responders (12%) indicated they had done so.

And a national survey from 2011 revealed that 10.9 million people hunt deer annually in the United States. So if one out of ten of them are donating deer to organizations like FHFH that means over a million hunters are already sharing their harvest with the hungry each year!
 
According to research from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), hunters are donating around 2.8 million pounds of meat annually to help feed the hungry. That’s enough meat for over 10 million meals coming from just one out of ten hunters donating.

To make this happen we need to educate more hunters about the opportunity to donate deer and help them find participating butchers and programs. We also need financial contributions and supporting members to help us get the word out and pay for the meat to be processed and packaged.  And we need volunteers to help us form new chapters across the country.
 
Please consider how you can either join or continue supporting the cause today. Together we can help share the Lord’s blessing of nutritious meat to feed the hungry of our nation!

Dan and Bobbie Jo Wasilko are a traditional husband-and-wife couple where Dan hunts for wild game and Bobbie Jo cooks what he brings home. But unlike the stereotypical hand-off at the pot on the stove, Bobbie Jo will often go into the field with Dan and he will often help Bobbie Jo in the kitchen. This way they support each other and share both the harvest and the preparation of these nutritious and natural wild meats that are the ultimate achievement of the hunt. Based in northern California with roots in Pennsylvania, they show how couples can work together to be successful both in the field and in the kitchen. Visit their website.  

Dan and Bobbie Jo are currently working on a television show called “He Hunts She Cooks™” where their collaboration for hunting and cooking is brought to life in an exciting and entertaining television series.

Guinness Braised Venison 
by Bobbie Jo Wasilko
He Hunts She Cooks
Cookin’ Wild 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
3 pound Venison Bottom Round *(substitute bottom butt, shoulder, or 4 large shanks)
2-12 ounce Bottles Guinness or Kaliber (non-alcoholic) beer
3 cups Beef Stock (low sodium) or Venison Stock
1 Leek (white and light green parts only)
1 Large Onion
2 Carrots
2 Celery Stalks
2 Tbs. Tomato Paste
1 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbs. Onion Powder
3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme 
2 Bay Leaves 
1 tsp. Caraway Seed (fennel or anise seed)
3 Tbs. All Purpose Flour

Instructions:
*The venison can be made 1-2 days ahead and gently re-heated on top of the stove over low heat.

1. Bring the venison to room temperature 1 hour before cooking.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.
3. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
4. Coat the venison with flour and shake off the excess, and set meat aside.
5. Rinse the leeks to remove all dirt and sand. Then dice the leeks (white and light green parts only), onion, carrots, celery and set aside.
6. Mince the garlic and set aside.
7. Coat a large frying pan with oil and heat to medium-high. 
8. Add the venison and brown on both sides, then remove to a large casserole dish, roaster, or dutch oven.
9. Turn down the heat to medium and add the chopped vegetables to the frying pan and sauté until caramelized, about 5 minutes.
10. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste and sauté a minute.
11. Add 1/2 cup Guinness/Kaliber over the vegetables to de-glaze the pan. 
12. Pour all the vegetables, remaining Guinness/Kaliber, stock, spices, herbs, and all remaining ingredients over the venison and cover. 
13. Place in the oven to braise 3-5 hours. Check at 3-1/2 hours and return to the oven until the meat is tender, if needed.
14. Once the venison is tender when pierced with a fork, remove the venison and discard the bay leaves and thyme stems.

**Serving Suggestion:  Serve the venison with traditional Irish Colcannon (mashed potatoes with kale and leeks).

We welcome Lynn Sheldon and Mike Handrick to FHFH as our newest chapter coordinators!
 
Lynn is the coordinator for the DC and Montgomery County FHFH Chapter in Maryland, and Mike is the coordinator for the Northern Forest Zone FHFH Chapter in Wisconsin.
 
Inspired by a passion for the outdoors and compassion for the needy,  Lynn and Mike join our other FHFH coordinators who are making a difference to the hungry in their communities.
 
You can find Lynn, Mike and the rest of our local chapter coordinators by CLICKING HERE.  We encourage you to reach out and support them!

​Mike Handrick is a native of Northern Wisconsin.  He was born in the forest and received his first shotgun for his 11th birthday.  Hunting has been a lifelong passion and time in the woods has sharpened his respect for resource management.  Mike’s financial planning career began in 1990.  Today, Mike is an advanced financial planner, Mike coaches wealth holders by helping them crystallize their family legacy goals, then implementing charitably based strategies that benefit the family and the beneficiaries of the charities that hold the family’s passion. 

Mike is an FHFH local coordinator working in Wisconsin to increase awareness of our mission.  He is also an outside authority on how you can support the FHFH mission with charitably based strategies that help your current tax situation and help to fulfill your conservation based lifestyle.  According to Mike, one of the biggest mistakes that wealth holders make is jumping directly into strategies without first establishing family legacy values.  Mike will be contributing to our newsletter periodically.  Here is his first article with a link to his website.  

Leaving a Legacy for Conservation

Charitably based estate planning is the process of incorporating your highest family legacy ideals into your overall estate and family wealth transition plan design. The first step is to use a trained facilitator to help you document your family legacy story. Many wealth holders are turning to CAP® advisors (Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy®) to perform the facilitator role. A skilled facilitator will take you through a life review along with helping you crystallize your highest ideals. Only when this groundwork has been completed should you move to estate planning strategy design.

The next step is to ensure that you and your kids will be ok. Most wealth holders want to ensure that they will not outlive the income sources that produce their lifestyle. In addition, most people want to make certain their kids will be ok, regardless of how hard they may fall. An insured wealth transfer plan is critical to your success. The biggest failure of wealth transition plans is not preparing the kids for the money. Most wealth holders have well thought out estate plans where they have prepared the money for the kids. Recent surveys have found that about 75% of family wealth is gone after the second generation and about 90% is gone after the third generation because of the failure to prepare the kids for the emotional and financial responsibilities that come with inherited wealth. Failure is not an option!

The third step is to identify the charitable causes that hold your passion and that you wish to support. The largest tax breaks in the current tax code are embedded in charitable contributions. The US Treasury is responsible for ensuring that financial resources get to communities in ways that improve each community. They accomplish this either through a variety of taxes or through qualified charitable contributions. Most people recognize that direct charitable contributions are far more efficient than first moving resources through the Federal and State Governments.

There are many strategies that can be employed to help you meet your charitable intentions. Skilled CAP® advisors are well equipped and connected to help you design your most effective wealth protection and transfer estate plan. Having the right people at your planning table is critical when your balance sheet gets opened to be reviewed and planned for. Your CAP® advisor is your most trusted ally in this collaborative effort.  Contact me if you wish to have a private discussion regarding your charitable intentions and desire to support FHFH.

Mike Handrick
715-614-8200
mike@handrickplanning.com
www.handrickplanning.com
 
Securities and advisory services offered through Packerland Brokerage Services, Inc., an unaffiliated entity –  Member FINRA & SIPC

FHFH’s mission of feeding the hungry in our country is a team effort!  This past hunting season our chapters in states across the country provided many thousands of meals to those in need. Here are some examples…
 
In Ohio, Great Lakes FHFH Coordinator Jason Traggiai partnered with Newbury Country Meats, LLC in February to provide 1,750 meals to hungry families in North East Ohio.
 
Maryland’s Wicomico County FHFH Coordinator, Chip Todd, and  Wright Brothers Butchery and Taxidermy donated 2,268 pounds of venison to the homeless and hurting through Halo Ministries in Salisbury, MD.
 
John and Beth Mollet’s Chapter, Central Indiana FHFH, donated 563 pounds of ground venison to Lapel Food Pantry in Indiana.
 
We thank all our Chapter Coordinators and Meat Processors for making a difference!
 
If you would like to donate deer or livestock to help feed the hungry, please click here.

We are excited to announce the Mossy Oak “Hunting the Country” TV show featuring FHFH will re-air Tuesday, April 5th at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on the Outdoor Channel!

In this episode, two young hunters shoot and donate deer to FHFH while learning a wide variety of lessons along the way.

Please help us get the word out by sharing this with your friends and family.  Don’t forget to post the date and times on social media as well!  Past television episodes featuring FHFH have introduced our mission to hunters, volunteers, donors and supporters across the nation leading to new chapters and expansion into new areas.

We are grateful to our long-time ministry partner Mossy Oak and Haas Outdoors for continuing to support our mission by sharing FHFH with their nationwide audience!.

The National Deer Alliance (NDA) recently joined FHFH as a Mission Partner.  If you haven’t joined the alliance yet you can do so for FREE at their website.
 
In their weekly “On Watch” email newsletter earlier this month, the NDA included some questions about sharing meat with others and with programs like FHFH.  Of the members who responded, 12% said they donated venison to programs that feed the hungry this past hunting season.
 
The mission of the National Deer Alliance (NDA) is to serve as the unified voice of the modern deer hunter and guardian of North America’s wild deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage.  NDA focuses on policy issues impacting deer, deer hunters, and the deer hunting industry in coordination with the Quality Deer Management Association, Mule Deer Foundation and Whitetails Unlimited.

Indiana FHFH was at the Deer, Turkey and Waterfowl at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis February 25 – 28.   They had a great time meeting people and sharing the mission of FHFH.  Indiana FHFH held a drawing for a Ruger 7744 (44 cal) rifle.  Literature about FHFH and FHFH logo merchandise were available at the booth.  Joining FHFH at the expo was Steve Stuart of WFMS radio.

A deer management program in the Metroparks of the Toledo area resulted in 6,740 pounds of venison being donated to local homeless shelters and community kitchens in Ohio.  The donated venison yielded approximately 26,960 servings of meat for the hungry!
 
The month-long kill was part of the Metroparks’ deer-management program that began three years ago to control the white-tailed deer population on its properties and reduce damage a burgeoning herd does to the habitat.
 
The deer were taken to three U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved processors and the venison was donated to local homeless shelters and community kitchens.

Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry paid $11,640 of the $17,880 venison processing costs charged to the Metroparks.
 
You can read the complete article here.

Earlier this month Central Indiana FHFH coordinators John and Beth Mollet were featured in a radio interview on 95.5 WFMS. You can listen below…