More than 1,000 less fortunate people from the downtown eastside are being served a free meal tonight, which is not considered wholly unusual. What is different is what they’re dishing up and who’s behind the event.

They’re dining out on wild game courtesy of two high profile advocates of hunting, which includes the Vancouver Canucks’ David Booth.

Lineups were forming outside of 1 Cordova to try the menu – moose hotdogs, venison stew and duck chili. All the meat was provided by B.C. hunters.

“It’s just to give back to the people of Vancouver that are maybe just a little less fortunate than most people,” Booth, Hunting for Humanity Organizer and Vancouver Canuck told Global News.

“And to give them a nice meal of wild game, which is, in my opinion, the best, tastiest kind of food.”

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Booth, an avid outdoorsman, was recently criticized for posting his hunting pictures online but a recent Insights West poll found 73 per cent support hunting for meat; while only 10 per cent support trophy hunts.

“If we’re going to abhor people for hunting and doing those things then we need to have a look at what’s on our plate, our fridge and our freezer and where we shop and the impact that has, period,” Mark Brand, Save On Meats, said. “[David’s] very passionate about hunting and wants to continue to do that and he eats and uses all the stuff that he hunts.”

For Booth, he figures regardless of what someone does, there will be criticizing but essentially, the event is for a good cause.

“If you’re doing it for a good cause and you’re feeding human beings, I mean how could you really get upset at that, I don’t think there’s really a way,” Booth said.

There’s no denying a hunting resurgence in B.C. with last year’s numbers peaking at 90,000 and growing with many of the new hunters being women and children. Some say the organic food movement is part of the reason as customers are becoming increasingly wary of the hormones found in grocery store purchased meat.

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“Something that has no growth hormones in it, something that’s never had any shots or antibiotics,” Adam Hill, Hunting for Humanity Organizer said.

“It’s 100 per cent all-natural and 100 per cent organic, so what way to better feed somebody then with the best quality meat that you can.”

Hunters spent a year gathering meat for this dinner; which included hundreds of ducks, a moose and a deer and was enough to feed 1,200 people.

~ with files from Darlene Heidemann