A couple weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to hear a presentation by Yvonne Derby of the Emergency Food Bank in Stockton. The food bank works with other agencies all over San Joaquin County to feed the hungry from Tracy to Manteca and from Lathrop to Lodi.

A germ of an idea began to form in the dusty recesses of my mind. Two years ago, my son and I harvested large bears during hunting season. A large bear properly processed can equate to a whole lot of fresh meat in the form of steaks, roasts, chops and sausage, which is neatly wrapped and ready for the freezer. The problem is that my freezer won’t hold that much meat.

I checked around and was able to donate more than 100 pounds of packaged meat to the Rescue Mission and help feed hungry people. The folks at the Rescue Mission were delighted, and it gave me a warm feeling to be able to help.

After hearing the Emergency Food Bank presentation, I thought it might represent a great opportunity for hunters to do the same.

Coincidentally, the annual Dinner of the California Houndsmen for Conservation is Saturday, Aug. 1, in beautiful Thornton. I’ve attended several Houndsmen dinners, and they’re great fun. You enjoy a fine meal and bid on great auction items, including guided bear hunts. There also is a drawing with guns, hunting equipment and dog paraphernalia. All proceeds go toward preserving game habitat and traditions that are older than recorded history.

(Side note: I recently was reading a book entitled “Guns, Germs and Steel,” an anthropological examination of why some civilizations succeed and some fail by Jared Diamond.

Guess which animal was the first domesticated animal in human history? It wasn’t the horse, which helped the conquistadors explore new worlds. Nor was it the sheep, which inspired the 23rd Psalm, or the mummified cats found in Egyptian tombs.

The first animal to be domesticated by humankind was the dog. Before the dawn of recorded history, we relied on dogs to help us put food on the table. That’s a pretty distinguished pedigree.)

I’ve been a member of Rotary International for more than 25 years and thought this might be a perfect project for Rotary. Maybe by working jointly with the Emergency Food Bank and California Houndsmen, we can get thousands of pounds of fresh, natural protein with no hormones or pharmaceutical additives onto the plates of those in need.

There are obstacles to overcome, of course, but if we put our minds to it, we can participate in a tradition that dates back thousands of years. We can donate the meat that might make the diet of the truly needy a little better.

If you’re interested in donating your bear or deer this fall, contact me at the Sun Post for details. Better yet, come to the Houndsmen’s annual dinner. For info on the feast, contact Dan Tichenor at Datich@aol.com or me at don.moyer@gmail.com.

I guarantee you’ll have a great time, and you might even be the high bidder for a guided trip to catch live rattlesnakes and personal instruction on making your own custom rattlesnake hatband. I’ll see you there.

Until next week, Tight Lines.

• To comment on Tight Lines, forward messages to Sports Editor Ike Dodson at 239-6351, ext. 306, or e-mail ike@sunpost.net.