For the eighth year in a row, Rains Natural Meats has been the local processing center for “Share the Harvest,” a program started by the Missouri Department of Conservation to provide an easy way for hunters to donate venison to people in need.
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This year 61 deer were donated by hunters to help area families. About three-fourths of those deer were antlered bucks.
The MDC paid $35 and Rains paid $5 toward the processing fee on all 61 of the donated deer. The Gallatin Men’s Club paid $35 toward 30 of the deer; and individual hunters paid $35 on the other 31 deer.
The Gallatin Men’s Club sponsors the Share the Harvest program in our community with the help of contributions from a variety of organizations. The Men’s Club raised about $900 in monetary donations toward the program.
The Daviess County Green Hills Community Action Agency and the Seventh-day Adventist Community Service Center will be coordinating distribution of the venison again this year. Marie Toney said the meat, which is packaged by Rains, is available to be picked up at the Community Action building Monday through Friday and at the Seventh-day Adventist Community Service Center on Wednesday.
Donations of deer for “Share the Harvest” will continue to be accepted at Rains Natural Meats located about three miles east of Gallatin on Hwy. 6. Green Hills Community Action Agency is located at the corner of Clay and Jackson in Gallatin. The Seventh-day Adventist Community Service Center is located at 1207 South Clay Street.
Since Sept. 15, deer harvest for the 2007-2008 season in Daviess County was 2,631, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation website, with Antlered Buck = 1,096; Button Buck = 391; and Doe = 1,144. Statewide Totals for deer count were 259,775 with Antlered Buck = 114,185; Button Buck = 34,303 and Doe = 111,287.
Many families and individuals have no dependable source of protein in their diets. Deer is a valuable source of protein; but, unlike most red meat, is unusually low in fat. Through Share the Harvest, Missouri hunters can help provide this part of the daily diet. It’s easy to donate. Hunters take their deer to an approved processing plant and simply tell the processor how much venison they wish to donate. The hunter has the option of donating a few pounds or the whole deer. There is no price reduction for partial donations. The processor then packages and stores the meat until it’s transported to a distributing agency by the coordinator. Agencies receiving venison will distribute it to ensure that all venison is used and is goes to where it serves the greatest need.
Many people in Missouri can benefit from this program. Families or individuals simply have to contact a participating distributing agency; the agency will allocate the venison according to its supply.