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Source: San Antonio Express-NewsSept.self storage 06--To put a twist on an tired cliche, the Lord can be sneaky.He pops up where you don't expect him. You can find proof in four plain-Jane buildings in a hidden patch of scrub oak near Garden Ridge.Trinity Oaks isn't an awesome monument to faith and the wonders of God. Nor is it a vanity church project where well-heeled parishioners drop a few grand every summer to get their picture taken in some undeveloped nation.Instead, it's a testament to human decency. Fueled by donated meat and volunteer elbow grease, this place churns out 50,000 pounds of meat monthly. It's not tied to a church but works with faith-based organizations to distribute food to hungry people in San Antonio, South Texas, along the border and in northern Mexico.Just to be sure that we're clear here -- Trinity Oaks is producing food that goes directly to the tables of thousands of needy households and institutions from here to Monterey. It isn't lobbying government or other groups for help. It isn't making political statements. It's not pointing fingers, and it's not sitting on its hands.Trinity Oaks is making sure people are fed. You might not necessarily agree with its evangelical bent -- it only works with groups that minister while they feed -- but you can't quibble with its work.There are no visual clues about Trinity Oaks' mission at its remote meat plant. No crosses. No stained glass. No prayer books."There's nothing sacred out here," said Chuck Byrge, who runs the plant that constitutes most of the operation. "This is about ministering to people and feeding them."He's the only full-time staffer of the nondenominational project. His salary is donated by one of the organization's many benefactors. The group has no administrative costs, he said, so every other donated dollar goes to the production of food.Trinity Oaks contracts with various municipalities to take deer that are captured for public safety reasons. Hunters will also donate meat to the group during the season.Area ranchers raising exotics routinely cull their wildlife herds, and many call Trinity Oaks to collect the meat. "We'll get a call out of nowhere from a rancher who's got 10 nilgai," Byrge said. "He'll say it's ours if we come get it."Trinity Oaks also works with major retail chains such as H-E-B to accept more traditional fare, such as steak, beef and chicken.He showed me the walk-in cooler on a recent afternoon. They'd just taken a 3,000-pound donation of poultry from Tyson Foods. It was stacked along one wall. Another ton of meat hung from hooks or lined the other walls in boxes -- white-tailed deer, wild hog, nilgai deer, aoudad sheep, black buck antelope, water buffalo, zebra, axis deer. It was packed as chops, patties, fajita and stew meat.There's a receiving room where hunters can leave animals, as well as a smokehouse where meat is cured. The business end of the operation is the kitchen, where stainless steel tables, sausage stuffers, large grinders and power bone saws let Byrge and volunteers turn game into grub. I dropped in unannounced, by the way, and the place was spotless.Trinity Oaks started eight years ago. Founder Tom Snyder grew up as an outdoorsman. He wanted to give back, so he would take disadvantaged kids hunting. After the hunt, he'd pay to have the animals processed and donated to the kids' family. His wife, Nona Snyder, handled the books, and brother Michael Snyder helped with the hunting trips.Snyder's work was known around his church. When Byrge heard about it, he offered to process the meat for free.The group's original mission was to take kids and injured soldiers hunting and fishing. It's still a major part of the efforts, Snyder said. The group has built a wheelchair-accessible pier on the Texas coast. They've purchased three motorized wheelchairs that are customized to assist physically challenged hunters. And there's a fundraising effort underway to develop a fishing camp on the Guadalupe River .Food distribution grew out of those original efforts, Byrge and Snyder said. Twenty local organizations get Trinity Oaks meat and mix it with other staples to donate to the needy. Snyder and Byrge are always on the lookout for more groups to help, more volunteers to work, more meat to process.Donations would be good, too. They've got a fundraiser at Rebecca Creek Distillery on Bulverde Road on Sept. 27. The info can be found at TrinityOaks.org"Anything we can do to help or give, we do it," Snyder said."There's no such thing," Byrge said, "as serving too much."rbragg@express-news.net. Read Bragg's blog at blog.mysanantonio. com/atlarge. Follow @roybragg on TwitterTo put a twist on an tired cliche, the Lord can be sneaky迷你倉He pops up where you don't expect him. You can find proof in four plain-Jane buildings in a hidden patch of scrub oak near Garden Ridge.Trinity Oaks isn't an awesome monument to faith and the wonders of God. Nor is it a vanity church project where well-heeled parishioners drop a few grand every summer to get their picture taken in some undeveloped nation.Instead, it's a testament to human decency. Fueled by donated meat and volunteer elbow grease, this place churns out 50,000 pounds of meat monthly. It's not tied to a church but works with faith-based organizations to distribute food to hungry people in San Antonio, South Texas, along the border and in northern Mexico.Just to be sure that we're clear here -- Trinity Oaks is producing food that goes directly to the tables of thousands of needy households and institutions from here to Monterey. It isn't lobbying government or other groups for help. It isn't making political statements. It's not pointing fingers, and it's not sitting on its hands.Trinity Oaks is making sure people are fed. You might not necessarily agree with its evangelical bent -- it only works with groups that minister while they feed -- but you can't quibble with its work.There are no visual clues about Trinity Oaks' mission at its remote meat plant. No crosses. No stained glass. No prayer books."There's nothing sacred out here," said Chuck Byrge, who runs the plant that constitutes most of the operation. "This is about ministering to people and feeding them."He's the only full-time staffer of the nondenominational project. His salary is donated by one of the organization's many benefactors. The group has no administrative costs, he said, so every other donated dollar goes to the production of food.Trinity Oaks contracts with various municipalities to take deer that are captured for public safety reasons. Hunters will also donate meat to the group during the season.Area ranchers raising exotics routinely cull their wildlife herds, and many call Trinity Oaks to collect the meat. "We'll get a call out of nowhere from a rancher who's got 10 nilgai," Byrge said. "He'll say it's ours if we come get it."Trinity Oaks also works with major retail chains such as H-E-B to accept more traditional fare, such as steak, beef and chicken.He showed me the walk-in cooler on a recent afternoon. They'd just taken a 3,000-pound donation of poultry from Tyson Foods. It was stacked along one wall. Another ton of meat hung from hooks or lined the other walls in boxes -- white-tailed deer, wild hog, nilgai deer, aoudad sheep, black buck antelope, water buffalo, zebra, axis deer. It was packed as chops, patties, fajita and stew meat.There's a receiving room where hunters can leave animals, as well as a smokehouse where meat is cured. The business end of the operation is the kitchen, where stainless steel tables, sausage stuffers, large grinders and power bone saws let Byrge and volunteers turn game into grub. I dropped in unannounced, by the way, and the place was spotless.Trinity Oaks started eight years ago. Founder Tom Snyder grew up as an outdoorsman. He wanted to give back, so he would take disadvantaged kids hunting. After the hunt, he'd pay to have the animals processed and donated to the kids' family. His wife, Nona Snyder, handled the books, and brother Michael Snyder helped with the hunting trips.Snyder's work was known around his church. When Byrge heard about it, he offered to process the meat for free.The group's original mission was to take kids and injured soldiers hunting and fishing. It's still a major part of the efforts, Snyder said. The group has built a wheelchair-accessible pier on the Texas coast. They've purchased three motorized wheelchairs that are customized to assist physically challenged hunters. And there's a fundraising effort underway to develop a fishing camp on the Guadalupe River .Food distribution grew out of those original efforts, Byrge and Snyder said. Twenty local organizations get Trinity Oaks meat and mix it with other staples to donate to the needy. Snyder and Byrge are always on the lookout for more groups to help, more volunteers to work, more meat to process.Donations would be good, too. They've got a fundraiser at Rebecca Creek Distillery on Bulverde Road on Sept. 27. The info can be found at TrinityOaks.org"Anything we can do to help or give, we do it," Snyder said."There's no such thing," Byrge said, "as serving too much."rbragg@express-news.net. Read Bragg's blog at blog.mysanantonio. com/atlarge. Follow @roybragg on TwitterCopyright: ___ (c)2013 the San Antonio Express-News Visit the San Antonio Express-News at .mysanantonio.com Distributed by MCT Information Services文件倉