When the number of people having trouble feeding themselves and their families increases, and the services that are instituted to help them, suffer at the same time, what I call “an equation of desperation” is created. Food isn’t really a commodity, and if it isn’t available, there certainly aren’t replacements. I mean, hell…the stuff has generated wars and caused people to do outrageous, unspeakable things. So, while we may not be to that point yet in the United States, could it get there if the system that was put in place to prevent food hardship fails?

The 2010 Food Hardship report by the Food Research and Action Center recently reported nearly 20 percent of all people have trouble feeding their families on a daily basis. At the same time, Feeding America said more than half of food banks are turning people away. This is the equation of desperation I am talking about.

While reporting on the Food Research and Action Center’s new information, I found that the Great Lake states were not immune from this national statistic. Like the rest of the country, citizens are suffering. But, food banks in this region have also been tapping more into an abundant, regional resource that may leave them less desperate. Many food assistance organizations throughout the Great Lakes are calling hunters their greatest donors of food. While it’s not a new trend, its being used more often. In fact, an organization, known as Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, has been dedicated to the cause. Participants call themselves, “The Venison Feeding Ministry.” Their Web site has a button where you can click to, “donate deer.” In essence, people across the U.S. are relying on hunters making their targets, so they too can eat.

At first, I thought this was a great idea, and an obviously significant source of food to people who need it. But the more that I think about it, the more I am uncomfortable with it. I wonder how thousands of safety regulations have been instituted to make sure that only specific foods are served at homeless shelters and only canned and pre-packaged foods can be donated during food drives, but someone can kill a deer, drag the animal into the back of a truck and drop off at the local Second Harvest? How can we guarantee the sanitation of this process? I once tried to donate left over items from a community bake sale to my local food bank, and got turned down because each one was not individually wrapped. But now they are accepting whole animal bodies? I get the idea, but how can we really guarantee the safety of this meat? Or has the “equation of desperation” become intense enough, that we are willing to overlook food safety?