State conservation departments encourage hunters to donate venison

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- The Missouri Department of Conservation and the Conservation Federation of Missouri are encouraging deer hunters to donate venison to the Missouri Share the Harvest program.

The program started in 1992 and has provided more than six million pounds of venison to Missourians.

The donated venison will go toward local food banks and food pantries to help feed the state. Missouri's deer season started on Sept. 15 and will run until Jan. 15. Hunters can donate venison at any time during or after the season.

Tyler Polley, a Buchanan County conservation agent, said along with hunters donating, the MDC also contributes meat to the harvest.

"That's where a lot of our deer meat comes from, because...us as a Department and as landowners, we do targeted removal to try to combat CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease)," said Polley. "All that meat, once it's been tested and all that, it gets put into the harvest, which goes out and helps many, many people."

To donate, hunters must take the harvested deer to an approved meat processor and let the processor know how much venison to donate.

The MDC website shows different processors throughout the state. Polley said some hunters might have to pay a processing fee.

"The harvest does help every processor with $95 per deer, and then the hunter would have to cover the rest with the processing fee," Polley said.

Second Harvest is an organization that receives some of the meat from the MDC and distributes it to food pantries across the region.

Mackenzie Bally, Second Harvest marketing manager, said the program is really beneficial.

"A lot of the families we serve maybe don't have a source of protein coming in at all. And deer meat has a really low fat content. And so it's a really nutritious item that people can be eating," she said.

In the last couple of years, Second Harvest has received 5,000 to 7,000 pounds of venison from the program. This year, Second Harvest hasn't received much venison because the peak months for donations are January and February.

Bally said this program is important because Second Harvest relies heavily on donations and fundraising.

"Having partners like local hunters and processors is just a really great way to get involved and help the people that are right in your community," she said.

To get more information on the Share the Harvest program, visit the MDC website.