Share the Harvest bill include shelf-stable deer meat

The Conservation Federation of Missouri’s (CFM) Share the Harvest program will expand to include shelf-stable venison, or snack sticks, in the years to come as Governor Mike Parson signed HB 1711 on July 14. The bill will allow shelf-stable venison to be utilized in more ways across the state to feed hungry Missourians.
The previous statute stated that the deer meat must be frozen and packaged. This bill allows it to be frozen or packaged in a shelf-stable manner such as snack sticks. As the statute states, only deer meat will be allowed to be donated to the highly successful Share the Harvest program administered by CFM.
“CFM has successfully run the program for almost 30 years, but not without the help of so many partners, including the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), Feeding Missouri and their food banks, and other private business donors. We are looking forward to working with these partners to expand the program to include shelf-stable deer meat,” said Tyler Schwartze, Executive Director of CFM.
CFM, MDC, and Feeding Missouri, along with all our partners thank the thousands of Missouri deer hunters who donated 348,535 pounds of venison to the state’s Share the Harvest program this past deer season. We also thank the more than 100 participating meat processors who grind the donated deer meat into ready-to-use packages.
Since the program was started in 1992, it has provided more than 4.3 million pounds of lean, healthy venison to feed hungry Missourians, which included 6,795 whole deer last season. At a quarter pound per serving, that’s over 17 million meals that generous Missouri deer hunters provide to their neighbors, since the meat stays within the local community where it’s donated.
“Being able to include protein-rich meat to the backpacks of school children in need is just another way Missouri hunters can support their neighbors,” says Scott Baker, Feeding Missouri’s Executive Director.