Nearly 2,000 pounds of ground moose meat will be distributed to local charities in Petersburg this winter. 1,400 pounds of it was delivered on Friday and another 500 pounds will be given out in February.
The meat comes from seven moose that were killed in the fall hunt but were illegal, mostly because the antlers did not meet the size requirements.
The program known as the Burger Bank starts with the Alaska Wildlife Troopers seizing the moose carcasses during the hunt. Most hunters who killed an illegal moose pay a $300 fine for processing. That helps cover part of the cost but volunteers do the rest. They store it, butcher it, package it and distribute it to locals who need it.
KFSK’s Angela Denning met up with some of the volunteers at Coastal Cold Storage to find out more. They were weighing boxes filled with two-pound packages of the frozen meat. They included Cody Litster with the Alaska State Troopers, Wendell Gilbert with Tonka Seafoods, and Steve Burrell, who is with Rotary and the manager of the Burger Bank.
This round of moose distribution went to large non-profits including Petersburg Indian Association, Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood, the Petersburg School District, Monday Night Meals, and the Mountain View Manor Food Services programs.
In February, there will be another round of meat give-away for individual families.
