Looking for a butcher shop for the Chasseurs Généreux program

With hunting season fast approaching, the Chasseurs Généreux program is back and hunters are invited to donate a portion of their game to families turning to food aid.

This year program managers want to participate more and appoint meat shops. They, in turn, can act as ambassadors of sorts.

“This is often a key moment to donate at the butcher. If the butcher asks a hunter, “Hey, do you want to donate a few pounds of meat?” Usually, hunters say yes without a problem. They are happy to cooperate and provide quality meat to families in need and even in their area, ” explained Mathieu Martin, marketing advisor for the Federation of Hunters and Fishermen of Quebec.

For many, these donations make a big difference, especially when we estimate that there are 10% more requests than last year for food assistance during these difficult times.

“It’s meat and it’s not just meat, it’s meat that you can’t get in the grocery store. The only way to get it is to go hunting. There are surprises. There are people who don’t really know how to cook it, so we have to find recipes,” said Moisson Marici, assistant director at Genevieve Marchand and Communications added.

Butchery means space. Once the freezer is full, one phone call and someone arrives to bring meat to the creatures.

“My job is to ask them if they want to share their harvest with us this year. We don’t push more than that, it’s voluntary, but the important thing is to talk about it with every customer who comes in to get as many people as possible,” says the butcher shop co-owner and butcher. A recent participant in the program is Odyssey, Anthony Lamoureux.

In Marici, nearly 200 pounds of meat were donated under the program last year. More generous areas can reach up to 1500 pounds per season.

Two butcher shops in Maurice and three butcher shops in Centre-du-Québec are already participating. The program hopes to inspire more to “fight hunger in the region.”