Hunters understand the value of a successful harvest. We know the preparation it takes, the responsibility that comes with it, and the satisfaction of bringing home meat for our families.
We also know that harvest can help feed another family.
Across America, Hunters for the Hungry and Hunters Sharing the Harvest programs connect sportsmen and women with processors, food banks, and feeding ministries to provide nutritious meat to people facing hunger. These partnerships give hunters a practical way to put their skills and harvests to work for their communities.
I have spent much of my career helping people discover hunting and understand what hunters contribute. Wild-game donation programs are among the clearest examples. A responsibly harvested deer can support sound wildlife management and provide food for people who need it.
The process is straightforward. A hunter donates a legally harvested animal, a participating processor prepares the meat, and a food bank or feeding ministry distributes it.
Making that process work takes resources. Butchers need to be paid, meat needs safe storage, and someone must coordinate transportation and delivery. A willing hunter is essential, but so are the partners who ensure the donation reaches a family’s kitchen.
That is why The 1791 Foundation supports these programs.
Last year, this Foundation's support helped the East Texas Food Bank acquire a refrigerated trailer for its Hunters for the Hungry program. That investment expanded its capacity to store donated venison and distribute it to families across the region.
This year, The 1791 Foundation awarded more than $80,000 to Hunters for the Hungry organizations nationwide, including a $20,000 grant to Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry. Our Foundation has provided more than $500,000 to these organizations over the past five years.
Those dollars support the local work that turns a donated animal into food. Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry reports that it has helped provide more than 24 million servings of meat since 1997 - a record made possible by hunters, processors, volunteers, and donors following through year after year.
For families receiving that meat, the benefit is immediate: nutritious protein and something substantial to prepare for dinner.
The conservation benefit matters, too. Where wildlife professionals determine additional harvest is needed, hunters help manage deer populations according to local conditions and regulations. Donation programs provide an outlet for that harvest while helping feed others.
Eating and sharing the meat also gives us a meaningful way to explain hunting to people who have never experienced it. We should talk about habitat, conservation funding, and wildlife management as well, but feeding a family is something people readily understand. It shows the direct benefit of responsible hunting. Research I conducted a few years ago also found that these benefits are the leading reason non-hunters support hunting.
That generosity belongs in the lessons we pass to new hunters. Along with safe firearm handling, ethical shot selection, and proper care of the animal, show them how to donate. Let them experience the satisfaction of knowing their harvest will help someone else.
Before heading into the field, contact a local program or participating processor. Ask which animals it accepts, how the harvest should be handled, and what testing or other requirements apply. Planning ahead helps ensure the donation can be used.
If you cannot donate an animal, contribute toward processing costs, volunteer, or encourage a local business or hunting club to support the effort.
Hunters for the Hungry programs deserve our continued investment. We are fortunate to have a tradition that allows us to provide for our families through time spent outdoors. Sharing that harvest with people who need a helping hand is a responsibility worth passing on. As we approach Wild Game Meat Donation Month in November, prepare to help others while also helping manage our game populations.
– Peter Churchbourne
Peter Churchbourne is Executive Director of The 1791 Foundation and a lifelong hunter and conservationist. His research on public attitudes toward hunting and wild-game meat donations, together with his work producing the book “How to Talk about Hunting,” has established him as an authority on how hunting earns public support and benefits communities.