After the success of this event, owner and founder Josh Larsen is hoping to grow the event even more in the future.

The event, titled Hunting for the Homeless, saw inspired hunters from around the community to come together to give donations for the St. Susan Center. Larsen stated that the entry fee for the event required guests to bring at least one pound of venison, or the equivalent in canned goods. The event took place at the Grant View hotel, with Larsen having stated that the venue was of no charge thanks to the generosity of owner Deven Payne.

Larsen also noted the addition of live music this year, along with several door prizes that attendees would have the chance to walk away with. These prizes included backpacks, hunting equipment, and even bottles of wine.

“We had over 200 pounds donated,” said Larsen. ” I want to say around 80 to 90 pounds of venison, and then tons of canned goods. Which was awesome.”

The table filled with community donations from the event.

While this food distribution has similarly happened in previous years, Larsen mentioned a change to the general structure this year. In previous years, Larsen stated that he would travel around the country and donate meat that he has to various places. Larsen stated that one of the last times that this occurred the team donated a total of five or six deer from various hunts. With fewer chances to travel for hunting recently though, Larsen stated that he decided to bring in the community for this event to expand the total amount of food that would be collected.

“I want to give the community that positive look at hunting. It’s not just a bunch of guys going out and killing animals, we can actually utilize hunting to help out the community,” said Larsen. “So that’s kind of why we revamped it this year, and made it a community event where everybody can enjoy it.”

Larsen also gave a special thanks to the company’s vice president Rickie Thompson, who was a significant piece of coordinating this event.