U.S. Senator Charles Schumer on Monday at the Ilion Fish and Game Club continued to push for legislation that would use tax breaks to encourage hunters to donate meat to programs that provide food to those in need.
The legislation would allow hunters to deduct from their taxes any cost associated with processing the venison (deer meat) they donate.
Processors participating in venison donation programs also stand to benefit, as the legislation makes all processing income they receive from charities - or the state - tax exempt, according to Schumer.
Officials from area food pantries, the Rescue Mission and Food Bank of Central New York attended the press conference on Monday to show support for the legislation.
Representing some of the agencies that accept venison meat for food distribution programs, the officials said they looked at the proposal as offering a much-needed incentive for hunters that may be reluctant to make donations.
The need for donations continues to climb, however, as the number of meals served to locally steadily increases.
Lydia Sexton, of Catholic Charities of Herkimer County, said, over 500,000 meals had been donated by her organization in the county this year, and the requests for assistance continue to increase.
Schumer hopes his legislation will address the main issue limiting venison donations: the cost associated with processing the meat.
Peter J. Ricardo, director of Special Nutrition Projects at the food bank, said his organization - which provides food to pantries throughout the region and Herkimer County - has seen its contribution towards processing costs go from zero percent to 100 percent over the past five years.
Cuts in state funding to the Venison Donation Coalition, an organization that pays certified butchers to process meat that is donated to anti-hunger programs, are the main cause of changes in the amount paid by the food bank.
Schumer said, the VDC is in danger of going under because of the funding cuts. The organization up until two years ago received $100,000 per year from the state, according to Schumer, and funding dipped to $75,000 last year and then to $21,000 this year.
See the whole story in Tuesday's edition of The Evening Telegram.
