Weekend Greetings!
I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was meaningful and delicious! Ours was lovely…simply lovely. And…did you shop yesterday? I am happy to say I did NOT….and never missed it.
On to the good news!
Deer Hunters Help Feed the Hungry
Hunters are donating more venison to food banks as Ohio and other states begin to offer financial aid to help manage high deer populations.
“Feeding America” has seen demand for help more than double at some food banks. Second Harvest Foodbanks reports the number of people served by its charities was up 37 percent in the fourth quarter (compared with the previous fourth quarter).
Processing one deer may cost as much as $70 in addition to hunting equipment and license costs that must be paid by hunters. Last year for the first time, Ohio’s wildlife division provided a $100,000 grant for processing fees. This grant was matched by Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry and the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks. In response to these financial incentives, last year Ohio hunters donated more than 1,000 deer — more than twice the previous year’s total — providing venison for 220,000 meals.
Spam Maker’s Profit Rises 50 Percent
Hormel Foods reports its fourth-quarter profit rose more than 50 percent. This has been achieved by lower ingredient costs as consumers spend less on more expensive items like microwave meals.
Hormel has benefited as consumers limit spending and eat at home to make ends meet. Its lower-priced chili and its famed meat-in-a-can have been rising in at least the past year as consumers tighten their belts.
Consumers focusing on their budgets has hurt the company when it tries to sell more expensive products like microwavable meals, which are more profitable. Hormel notes that consumers limited their purchases of higher-priced items in its Jennie-O Turkey Store (accounting for 20 percent of net sales).
Nintendo Wii May Work as Well as Real Workout
New Wii video games from Nintendo may be creating a healthier couch potato.
Some of the Nintendo Wii sports games and activities require video-game enthusiasts to get moving and may increase energy expenditure as much as moderate intensity exercise.
A Nintendo-funded study found that about 33 percent of the games and activities that are part of the Wii sports and Wii fit packages require an energy expenditure of 3.0 METs or more. This is considered to be moderate intensity exercise. METs = metabolic equivalent values — the standard method of estimating energy expenditure.
