The History Of South Dakota Sportsmen Against Hunger

The South Dakota Sportsmen Against Hunger (SDSAH) program was established in 1993 by the Black Hills Sportsmen's Club in Rapid City through the leadership of Dr. Jeff Olson. SDSAH in South Dakota became part of an international Sportsmen Against Hunger network initiated by Safari Club International in 1989 as part of its Humanitarian Services mission of reaching out to people in need throughout the world. The purpose of the SDSAH program was to encourage, and provide an easier way for hunters to donate harvested game to needy families.

Starting in 2005, with the help of a consultant and encouragement from the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (GFP), plans were set into motion to significantly expand SDSAH. The plan was to organize as a nonprofit corporation, enlist participation by all game processors across the state, utilize the network of food pantries across the state through the Community Food Banks of South Dakota (CFBSD), make all hunters aware of SDSAH and its benefits, and explore various means of obtaining funding.

In the fall of 2005, expansion was initiated by increasing the number of participating game processors from 8 to 36. With increased publicity on SDSAH and on how hunters could donate game, the amount of donated game meat (primarily venison) increased from approximately 27,400 pounds in 2004 to 38,800 pounds in 2005. Approximately 2,500 pounds of the amount donated in 2005 was the result of a "clean out your freezer" food drive in Rapid City conducted by the Black Hills Sportsmen's Club.

In February 2006, SDSAH prepared Articles of Incorporation and filed as a nonprofit corporation with the State of South Dakota. The SDSAH Board of Directors held an organizational meeting and approved bylaws on March 3, 2006. In May 2006, the Internal Revenue Service determined that SDSAH was a public charity under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3).

In becoming a newly created nonprofit organization, SDSAH established two important goals. First, it was to help satisfy an ever increasing need for meat by poverty-level families. Secondly, it was to help curb expansion of South Dakota's over-abundant deer populations. However, with the limited number of deer hunters in the state, additional harvest beyond what hunters were utilizing themselves was not likely to occur unless the hunters had some easier means of giving the meat away. A GFP hunter survey has indicated that as many as 70% of the state's deer hunters would harvest additional deer and donate them if the hunters did not have to pay processing costs.

In 2006, SDSAH was able to secure funding from the GFP Commission for a 2-year pilot program in which SDSAH would reimburse participating processors for $30 of their costs for processing donated antlerless deer. Hunters could obtain certificates online from GFP and use it as payment to participating processors. The average total processing fee was $51, and each hunter could use up to four certificates with only one certificate per whole-carcass deer. Processors would then submit the certificates to SDSAH for reimbursement. As a result of increased awareness of SDSAH, increased number of participating processors (49), and availability of the $30 processing certificate, game meat donations increased to nearly 46,600 pounds in 2006 (including 2,700 pounds in the Rapid City food drive). Game donated through processors included: 391 antlerless deer, 504 buck deer, 37 antelope and 933 pheasants.

In conjunction with SDSAH initiation of a processing certificate in 2006, GFP also agreed to create a check-off system whereby hunters could donate cash to SDSAH as part of either the online or paper application for big game licenses. These check-off funds, along with supplemental funding from GFP, were used to promote, administer and pay for, the processing certificates.

To encourage even more harvest and donation of antlerless deer in 2007, GFP and SDSAH agreed to increase the value of the processing certificate to $50, remove the limit on total number of certificates which could be issued, make the certificates available at the processors' place of business, and to remove all restrictions on use of the certificates except to encourage hunters not to use more than four per person. The $50 processing certificate was accepted a full payment for processing antlerless deer by 38 of the 48 participating game processors. The result was an increase in donated game meat to over 76,500 pounds (including 3,900 pounds in the Rapid City food drive). This represented an increase of 64 percent from the previous year! Game donated through processors included: 1,757 antlerless deer, 326 buck deer, 48 antelope and 1,050 pheasants.

The value of the processing certificate in 2008 was kept at $50 for donated antlerless deer. New in 2008 was the addition of a processing certificate worth $40 for donated doe/fawn antelope. And hunters were encouraged to donate as many antlerless deer and doe/fawn antelope as they could, with no limit on the number of certificates per person. A total of 50 processors participated, with 31 of the 50 accepting the certificate as full payment for processing. Total game donations included 1,946 antlerless deer, 257 buck deer, 354 doe/fawn antelope, 20 buck antelope, 1 elk, and 3,066 pheasants. Pounds of processed game meat totaled 94,643 (a 24% increase from 2008), including 5,530 pounds through the Rapid City food drive and other private direct donations to the Rapid City and Sioux Falls Food Banks.

No changes were made in the processing certificate program for 2009. Of the 49 processors participating in 2009, 35 accepted the $50 certificate as full payment for processing donated antlerless deer, and 33 processors accepted the $40 certificate as full payment for processing doe/fawn antelope. Total game donations included 2,039 antlerless deer, 263 buck deer, 261 doe/fawn antelope, 54 buck antelope, some elk trim, 5,929 pheasants, 90 chukar, and 6 quail. Amount of processed game meat totaled 97,752 pounds including 3,203 pounds through the Rapid City food drive and other private donations of big-game meat directly to the Rapid City and Sioux Falls Food Banks, and 8,919 pounds of game bird meat.

Pounds of game meat donated each year since SDSAH was initiated (pheasants were first donated in 2006):

* Includes pheasants