The Wild Side for Sept. 23, 2012

It’s amazing, and always has been here, that you ask and, if your cause is worthy, you receive.

Nearly 20 years ago, a group of Capital City area outdoorsmen got together to figure out how to deal with the rapidly increasing whitetail deer population.

Not with the animals. It was the meat, the high-protein, low-fat venison that had become plentiful as more hunters began to see and take more deer.

Years ago, there was just enough venison to feed the camp. Onions, carrots, garlic, celery, bell pepper, salt and pepper and chunks of venison fed the camp the entire weekend. Ever tried marinated venison roasted slowly on a spit over a hardwood fire? It’s fit for a king, and there was seldom enough left on the carcass to make a sandwich.

Years ago, the state-mandated six-deer-per-season was filled by very few hunters, usually the ones who knew when to hunt the rut and took vacation to spend consecutive days hard-hunting whitetails.

Back 20 years ago, when these hunters decided to meet, more and more hunters were taking more and more deer. That meant camp coolers and freezers filled rapidly. Men and women at the meeting talked about looking in their freezers to find there was more venison left six months after the season than they could use.

What to do?

That’s when Clean Out Your Freezer Day started. Since then, hunters throughout the area have turned out to share their bounty with the less fortunate. In the years since, the fourth Sunday in September — this day — area sportsmen have donated right at 180,000 pounds of frozen game — and fish — to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

From 1 p.m.-4 p.m., (yes it’s right in the middle of the Saints-Chiefs game) volunteers will man more than a dozen collection sites to help the Food Bank get much-needed protein to the more than 100 soup kitchens and shelters in a 12-parish area.

Help however you can. Any frozen meat will be accepted at one of these sites:

• Old Alex Box Stadium parking lot, Nicholson Drive at Skip Bertman Drive, LSU.
• Bowie Outfitters, 8630 Perkins Road.
• CCA-Louisiana office, 12241 Industriplex Blvd.
• Baker Fire Station, 3701 Groom Rd., Baker.
• Baton Rouge Fire stations at 545 Lobdell Dr. and 835 Sharp Road.
• Central Fire Station, 11646 Sullivan Road, Central.
• St. George Fire stations at 7027 Antioch Rd. and 16415 George O’Neal Lane.
• Zachary Fire Station, 4525 Main St., Zachary.
• Cabela’s, Interstate 10 at La. 30, Gonzales.
• Basin River Electrical Supply, 24310 Railroad Ave., Plaquemine.
• Bass Pro Shops, Interstate 12 at Range Avenue, Denham Springs.
• Soprano’s Supermarket, 8389 U.S. 190, Livonia.
• Spillway Sportsman, La. 1, Brusly.
• Feliciana Seafood & Deli Exxon Station, 7555 U.S. 61-North, St. Francisville.

Your donation is needed, and your freezer will have room for the game and fish the fall months provide.