Share the Harvest is a statewide program organized by the Missouri Department of Conservation where deer hunters can donate venison to help others in need.
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This week is the official start of the firearms deer season in Missouri. It is also the beginning of a food drive called “Share the Harvest.”
Share the Harvest is a statewide program organized by the Missouri Department of Conservation where deer hunters can donate venison to help others in need.
This year will be the first year for the program in Daviess County. Share the Harvest has been available in Grundy County since 1997 with over 4,600 pounds of processed venison distributed in the county.
Each county in the state adopts its own program with local sponsors promoting the program, approved meat processors packaging the meat, and local charitable agencies distributing the packaged venison to area families needing assistance.
In Daviess County, the Gallatin Men’s Club is sponsoring the program. Kevin Noel is president and coordinates the program with the assistance of others in the club. Financial support to pay for processing fees comes from financial sponsors in the community.
Processing of the donated deer in Daviess County will be done by Rains Natural Meats. To be eligible for this program the deer meat must be processed in a facility subject to inspection by the USDA.
Hunters interested in donating venison to the Share the Harvest Program need only drop their legally harvested deer by Rains Natural Meats located three miles east of Gallatin on state highway 6. Deer hunters may donate either the whole deer or a portion of the meat.
Only whole deer donations are eligible for the paid processing, however, small donations of a couple of packages of venison from caring hunters can account for a freezer full of meat. Hunters expecting to drop off a deer for paid processing may want to call ahead to insure funding remains available.
Another partner in this program to fight hunger is Shelter Insurance Company. Shelter Insurance will pay $20 toward the processing of any whole deer that a hunter donates to the program. A hunter who wants to donate a deer to the program asks the meat processor for a Shelter Processing Payback Coupon.
Once the voucher is completed and returned to the local Shelter Insurance office, the hunter will be mailed a reimbursement check. Tom Garnett is the local Shelter Insurance Agent participating in the program. The payback promise will remain available to hunters even after local charitable funds have been exhausted.
The Green Hills Community Action Agency will coordinate the distribution of the venison through the Daviess County Food Pantry. Rules already in place will dictate those eligible to receive the venison. The first year goal for the program in Daviess County is 1000 pounds of venison.
Current donations have been collected to cover about half that amount. Donations of $40 coupled with the Shelter Insurance $20 payback is needed for the processing of one deer. Individuals or groups interested in contributing to the Share the Harvest Program can drop off their financial donations with Tom Garnett at the Shelter Insurance Agency in Gallatin.
Dennis Browning, Wildlife Management Biologist encourages local deer hunters to utilize their bonus tags to harvest extra deer for Share the Harvest. “To better control the deer population, we need to increase the annual harvest on does,” he says. “And we all know, the best food for the table are the ones without horns.”