Donated wild game meat feeds the hungry and homeless

Some sought out a quiet corner to wait. Others found friends for a chat. But all of approximately 150 homeless people filed in line on Tuesday for wild-game chili prepared by a celebrity chef.

The 11 a.m. meal at the House of Charity was prepared by Scott Leysath, the executive chef and star of “The Sporting Chef” on the Sportsman Channel.

He was in town as part of a nationwide campaign, founded in 2007 by the Outdoor Sportsman Group, to connect the passion of hunters with the need of feeding the homeless.

“Our goal is to connect hunters and anglers with shelters and bring a little attention to what is going on in these shelters,” Leysath said. “We are only here for one day. But we know it’s the people who have to do this every day.”

The vat of chili was so big that Leysath used what looked like a small boat paddle to stir. “It’s got moose, elk and deer: the combo platter,” he said. “It’s a high-protein sustainable resource providing food for shelters.”

The House of Charity, which is operated by Catholic Charities of Spokane, provides about 15,000 meals a month to anyone who is in need. The meal on Tuesday consisted of chili, green salad, fresh strawberries, cornbread and a brownie.

“It’s very welcome. Any support we can get like this helps,” said Steve Viers, who normally cooks for the House of Charity. “They do a lot of great things around the nation. For them to come to Spokane means a lot.”

Jim Marchioro, 69, and Michelle Stewart, 59, both sat down with full platters and held hands as they prayed. They then took a bite of Leysath’s chili.

“I’m a non-chili eater,” Stewart said. “But on a scale of 1-to-10, I’d give it a 9.5.”

“It’s nice and tender, and not gamey,” Marchioro said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had elk or moose. I had no idea what it tastes like. But it’s good.”

Lee Butcher, 61, liked the chili, but he wanted to find the person who cooked the cornbread.

“That cornbread is REALLY good. It’s nice to have people come in from the outside,” said Butcher, who said he also volunteers at the shelter.

Viers said the crowd of 150 can nearly double by the end of the month, when resources dwindle for those who need a meal.

“It used to be that in the summer months the numbers would die off. But now, it’s just steady all year. There are just a lot of low-income homeless,” he said.

Hunters can donate their kills through the local chapter of Safari Club International, which works with Crown Foods Lockers to process the game prior to providing it to Viers and the shelter.

Jim Burnworth, who along with his wife, Lorrie, hosts the hunting show “Western Extreme” on the Outdoor Channel, lives on Spokane’s South Hill. On Tuesday he wore a T-shirt with the program’s motto: “Hunt. Fish. Feed.”

“Every year, sportsmen donate millions and millions of pounds of wild game meat. This is renewable, sustainable resource,” he said.

Burnworth said he has killed as many 75 game animals in a year as part of his multiple shows, video and writing commitments.

“For years we would donate a lot of our meat. Now, we are taking 100 percent of my meat. All I have to do is drop it off at the processor,” he said. “If you take the worldwide problem of feeding people … it’s gigantic.”

Viers said a single deer can provide enough for the shelter to provide enough meals for a day. A moose or elk can provide enough meat for two days, he said.

“I haven’t had any fish donated this year. But a couple years back … we had some mackinaw brought to us from Lake Pend Oreille. And, occasionally we get upland birds and fowl,” he said. “Spokane has got to be one of the most giving communities that I’ve ever been in.”