LANSING, Mich — With SNAP benefits set to pause in November, local hunters and food pantries are prepared to step up to provide protein to families in need through venison donations.
- SNAP benefits are scheduled to pause across Michigan in November, increasing the urgency for food assistance.
- As the pause looms, hunters say they're ready to help by donating venison to local food banks and pantries.
- Community Baptist Church in Lansing is one pantry that has distributed venison in the past, and says it has a big impact on families in need.
WATCH: Michigan hunters donate venison to help families facing SNAP benefit pause
The sound of an arrow hitting a target is one Nate Whitson hears often this time of year, as bow season for deer hunting is underway in Michigan. He says it is a big part of his life.
"Just the peace, the quiet, the calm that comes with it," Whitson said.
That love and his faith inspired him to form Hunters Against Hunger, a non-profit that works to connect deer hunters with processors, who then distribute the meat to food pantries.
Now with the news that food stamp benefits are set to be paused across the state in November, he says the need for food assistance, especially for protein, is urgent.
"You take the combination of losing SNAP benefits and trying to import because of the price of beef, families are hurting," Whitson said.
Community Baptist Church in Lansing operates one of many food pantries across Mid-Michigan offering food at no cost to neighbors in need.
"Last year we gave out around 53,500 pounds to the community, feeding over 6,000 people in the community," Pastor Joe Jackson with Community Baptist Church said.
Jackson has seen the impact that a venison donation can have.
"I think one of the main questions we get from people calling and in need of food is, 'Pastor, we have nothing in the freezer. I've got three kids at home, and we have no meat. Do you have any meat?' Being able to give three, five, fifteen, twenty pounds of meat can change a child's world," Jackson said.
Now with the food stamps pause looming, he says it's even more impactful for pantries like the one in his church to be able to provide meat like venison to neighbors who need it.
"If we can look and give back to our local food pantries, this is the time we can be good community members and help out those around us," Jackson said.
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