For 21 years, the last Sunday in September and the annual Clean Out Your Freezer Day, were a signal for the imminent start of the hunting season. OK, so dove and teal hunters had their shots, but deer, squirrel and rabbit seasons were close.
This year, after those drives have collected in excess of 200,000 pounds of frozen game and other meats, there’s never been a greater need.
Problem is, August’s historic flood ravaged the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, which had for most of those previous two decades been the repository and distributor of those collections. The Food Bank lost its freezers.
That hasn’t deterred Hunters for the Hungry, the group formed years ago to head up the drive, to set its sights on record donations Sunday, Sept. 25.
“Because we have no freezer space, Second Harvest from New Orleans is coming to help with storing frozen game and fish,” organizer Jimmy Anthony said. “And we are going to collect nonperishable foods, too, canned food and anything else we can get to the increasing numbers of needy folks.”
If his name is familiar, it should be: Anthony retired from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in March and decided to work promoting Hunters for the Hungry efforts, which has gone statewide during the past four years.
With expansion comes new wrinkles, notably that collections in locales outside the Capital city area remain in those communities.
For instance, a new location in Napoleonville (Barbera Chevrolet), will begin its collection from noon-6 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m.-noon Saturday.
Otherwise, the Capital City area collections will run the usual 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25 at the old Alex Box Stadium parking lot, Bowie Outfitters on Perkins Road, CCA Louisiana’s office on Industriplex Boulevard, Spillway Sportsman in Brusly, Cabela’s in Gonzales, Bass Pro Shops in Denham Springs, Feliciana Seafood in St. Francisville and the Red Boot Deli in Clinton.
And don’t forget the fire stations: In Baton Rouge on Sharp Road and South Wooddale; St. George’s main office at 14100 Airline; Baker FD on Groom Road; and, Central FD on Sullivan Road.
Anthony said because of the floods and other logistics demands, organizers are asking all fire houses to bring their collections to the St. George site on Airline Highway.
The collection in Lafayette will take place from 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 2 at Louisiana-Lafayette's Cajun Field, and the CENLA collection will move from Pineville to the Woodworth Education Center and run with Saturday’s 7 a.m.-2 p.m. National Hunting and Fishing Day activities.
And there are collections set for Shreveport, Minden and Monroe.