Mark Saicheck has been a hunter all of his life. “It’s not just a hobby, it’s what I do,” he said.

When Hurricanes Rita and Katrina hit, Saicheck, a letter carrier in Alexandria, wanted desperately to give his time to help, but found it impossible. “I felt I needed to do something,” he said.

While talking with his supervisor at work, he was given a card with information about Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH), a national outreach ministry of Christians who help feed venison and other big game to the hungry.

“It’s a Christian ministry with no agenda other than feeding the hungry,” said Saicheck.

With approximately six chapters in Indiana and 90 nationwide, FHFH is designed to disperse donated meat to local food banks, soup kitchens and organizations.

Saicheck decided to begin a Madison County chapter last September and in only a few months was able to donate more than 300 pounds to the food bank, as well as local organizations that distribute food in Alexandria.

“Each chapter raises its own money (to process the meat),” said Saicheck. “If a hunter wants to donate a deer, they can take it to Circle A Meats (on Indiana 9 north of Alexandria) and we contract at a negotiated price of $50 a deer. They process and freeze it.”

According to the Department of Natural Resources, 125,500 deer were harvested in 2005, 549 of them in Madison County.

Saicheck estimates $4,000 will be needed to process donated meat this year. Last Saturday, an archery tournament at Girt’s Archery & Outfitters, 1420 Main St. in Anderson, benefited Madison County FHFH.

“(The tournament) went really well,” said Saicheck. “We made about $500.”

With more than 30 people registered, he was pleased with the turnout and support.

FHFH also helps control the deer population and gives hunters who would otherwise not use the deer meat or be able to pay for processing a killed deer an opportunity to hunt more, as allowed by DNR bag limits.

“The deer population in Indiana is on an exponential increase,” said Saicheck. “A herd of 450,000 deer is estimated in Indiana. One deer will eat about 3/4 ton of vegetation. Most of the time that’s crops. We’re actually helping.”