HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- Elk gumbo, anyone? More than 1 1/2 tons of donated elk meat and venison meant to help feed Hurricane relief workers and victims is arriving this week in Mississippi.
The donations were coordinated by Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, a Hagerstown-based charity that pays to process and distribute wild game, usually to local food banks and soup kitchens.
"This is a very unusual thing to be sending it across country," Executive Director Rick Wilson said as he watched 907 pounds of ground venison loaded onto a refrigerated semitrailer.
Meat also was collected in Flagstaff, Ariz., Arvada, Colo., Kansas City, Kan., Robinson, Ill., and Columbus, Ohio. The truck is expected to arrive in Biloxi, Miss., Thursday.
The meat will find its way into chili and stews, including some recipes with a regional flavor, cooked by Texas-based International Spirit of Truth Ministries.
"They do cook some Cajun dishes and things that Mississippi folks like," said the Rev. Lonnie Stewart, the organization's senior pastor.
Stewart said his group has served 230,000 meals to hurricane victims and relief workers since the Aug. 29 storm. The organization has set up a 40-foot mobile kitchen in Biloxi.
___
On the Net:
Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry: http://www.fhfh.org
Northern Arizona Food Bank: http://www.nafoodbank.org
Operation Compassion: http://www.operationcompassion.org
International Spirit of Truth: http://www.internationalspiritoftruth.org
