Members of Safari Club International's Central Ohio Chapter recently picked up donated venison from Kah Meats in Wapakoneta as part of the club's humanitarian effort, Sportsmen Against Hunger.

SCI started Sportsmen Against Hunger in 1989. Werner Schmiesing, a member of the club from Minster, has been involved with SCI's SAH program for a number of years, and during the 2000-2001 hunting season was the club's national vice-chair for the SAH program.

Kah Meats has been involved as long as Schmiesing by processing the venison into 2-lb. packages. Louis Comus, in addition to being an SCI member, is a volunteer for Agape Ministries in St. Marys and sees that the meat is distributed.

All sportsmen should be proud of the fact they are helping feed the needy through their donations. SCI members act as ambassadors for all sportsmen with the donation of venison.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife helps the program immensely by getting the word out by publishing the collection in the state's hunting regulation booklet each year.

Last year, SCI chapters collected 334,528 lbs. of venison and donated it to the needy. That amount, high in protein and low in cholesterol, served 1,338,112 meals. Local members Schmiesing and Comus picked up 400 lb. recently as part of the local contribution effort.