Staff photo/Katie Yantis: Auglaize County Wildlife Officer Matt Hoehn loads venison into a car bound for Agape Ministries in St. Marys.

Central Ohio Safari Club International member Werner Schmiesing arrived at Kah Meats in Wapakoneta to be part of a donation to Agape Ministries in St. Marys.
“We’ve been doing this donation since about 1999, as hunting seasons wind down,” Schmiesing said. “The sportsmen donate the meat.”
Auglaize County Wildlife Officer Matt Hoehn and Agape volunteer Louis Comus were also on hand at Kah Meats to pick up the donation of 279 pounds of venison.
“Anything we can get helps,” Comus said. “It’s amazing four to five years ago no one knew what venison was and they frequently wouldn’t take it. Now they know what it is and they ask for it.”
Comus said the number of families being fed through Agape has spiked in recent months.
“There are probably twice as many children as there were four to five years ago,” Comus said. “We are seeing new people coming every week.”
Comus said the donation was a bonus to Agape’s shelves.
“In the future we will have to be sure we can service more people,” Comus said. “When school lets out we will see more people because right now the students are getting fed at school.”
Officials estimated the 279 pounds of venison would make 1,200 meals for area residents.
Comus also showed his appreciation for those in the Safari Club International.
“You have no idea how appreciative we are to get this,” Comus said. “This is a bonus.”
Agape Ministries Executive Director Kathy Bayless said the meat came at just the right time.
“This is such a blessing right now, 279 pounds will probably last until the end of April,” Bayless said. “(It’s) not very long, but it adds a lot to our families and right now as many people as we have coming in this is truly a blessing, especially for the kids.”
Bayless said the venison is an added option onto the usual meat count the clients receive each week.
“They use it in all different sorts of ways,” Bayless said. “People look forward to the venison, people have gotten really good at knowing how to fix it and use it in the best ways.”
Bayless also praised the Safari Club for its generosity.
“I wish more people were as generous as the Safari Club,” Bayless said. “We are so desperate for meat.”
The meat was delivered in 1-pound ground packages, 2-pound packs and other miscellaneous cuts.