Missouri Hunters Help Families Through Share the Harvest

By Blake Jackson

Hunting has long been rooted in the tradition of providing, and today hunters have an opportunity to extend that benefit far beyond their own households. With many families struggling under the weight of rising inflation, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Share the Harvest Program offers hunters a meaningful way to support their communities.

Through Share the Harvest, hunters can donate part or all of the venison from a harvested deer. After taking the deer to an approved meat processor, the venison most often ground is prepared, packaged and then distributed to individuals and families facing food insecurity.

The program is supported through a statewide collaboration between MDC, the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM), participating meat processors, and hunters themselves. In the St. Louis region, Operation Food Search (OFS) plays a particularly important role. Because of OFS’s financial contributions, hunters in the area who donate their entire deer typically pay little to nothing in processing fees.

OFS, based in Overland, provides food to 200,000 people each month through more than 200 distribution sites across the metro area. The organization reports that fresh protein, including venison, is one of the most requested items among the people it serves.

Processing a deer generally costs around $100. CFM helps offset that cost by covering $95 for whole-deer donations statewide, and OFS adds another $40 per deer. In St. Louis, St. Charles, and Jefferson counties, cooperating processors cap their fees so that donating hunters incur minimal or no out-of-pocket expense.

As MDC Conservation Agent Corporal Jeff Breuer explains, “Operation Food Search is helping reduce costs for hunters who want to donate whole deer to Share the Harvest, so it’s easier for them to participate.”

A list of participating processors is available through MDC, and hunters in Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Management Zone counties are reminded that donations must be made at processors approved for CWD testing.

For full program details, visit mdc.mo.gov/share.

Photo Credit: gettyimages-imagixian