Missouri Department of Conservation MDC Hunting and Fishing

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Share the Harvest

Deer

Find a participating meat processor in your area. Only counties with participating processors are listed below.

Missouri's Share the Harvest program helps deer hunters donate surplus venison to the needy. This program is administered by the Conservation Federation of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Conservation. In 2017, hunters donated 289,292 pounds of venison.

Donating is easy

Simply take your deer to an approved meat processor and let the processor know how much venison you wish to donate. The processor will package the meat, which will be picked up by local sponsoring organizations and taken to a charitable agency for distribution.

Processing funds are available at some local processors

Get help with processing costs when you donate a whole deer during all portions of the archery and firearms deer seasons. The Conservation Federation of Missouri reimburses processors a pre-determined amount for each whole deer donated. This allows processors to reduce processing fees to hunters. In addition, many processors have local money available that allows deer to be processed for free or at reduced cost. Be sure to contact individual processors to determine if funds are available. The cost of processing the deer is your responsibility when local funds to help cover the full cost are not available.

Why Share the Harvest?

The National Institutes of Health state that children need protein in their diets for proper growth and development, and adults need it to maintain good health. Yet many Missourians and their families can't afford or can't get to good sources of protein. Through Share the Harvest, Missouri hunters can help provide those in need with high-quality protein in the form of deer meat, which is naturally lean.

Who can get the meat?

Any Missourian who needs it. Adults or families can get in touch with a participating distributing agency, and the agency will allocate the venison according to its supply.

How do hunters donate venison to the program?

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.

How can my organization get involved?

You can get involved as a member of almost any club or organization that would like to work with the Share the Harvest program. Sponsoring volunteer clubs are vital to this project. They provide promotion and manpower on a local level to a program that addresses the needy in their area. In addition many local groups provide additional funding to augment the moneys paid by the Conservation Federation on the donation of whole deer. Raising local funds greatly increases donations.

How to get Share the Harvest started in your area

Clubs or organizations wishing to coordinate the Share the Harvest program in their area may contact a conservation agent in their county or the Conservation Department at the address on the back panel. Agencies that distribute venison also may fulfill the role of coordinator.
Distributing agencies should be nonprofit charitable organizations. They must have proper storage for the meat and agree to distribute uncooked venison directly to families or individuals.
The coordinator should locate a deer processor who agrees to participate in Share the Harvest. Processors also must be a government-inspected facility.
Once agreements are made with coordinator, deer processors and distributing agencies, permission must be obtained from the Conservation Department to conduct a Share the Harvest program.
After the local conservation agent approves the coordinator’s choice of meat processors and distributing agencies, the coordinator will receive written authorization and instructions.

Share the Harvest Guidelines

Requests to participate in Share the Harvest should be submitted to the director of the Conservation Department through a local conservation agent. Requests must include names of participating meat processors and the distributing agency.
Meat processors must be licensed by the Conservation Department to process deer and be subject to government health inspection, or be approved by the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Meat Inspection Program.
State and local health regulations must be followed.
A conservation agent must initially approve the coordinator, processors and distributing agency.
Only venison from white-tailed deer legally taken in Missouri will be accepted.
Donated venison must be processed at approved meat processing facilities.
Records detailing number of donors, pounds of donated venison, and charitable recipient group must be kept by the coordinator, and submitted to the local conservation agent no later than Feb. 1.
Donated venison must be stored and transported in department-provided plastic bags that display the Share the Harvest logo, or in approved containers clearly marked with Share the Harvest labels.
Venison may not be served cooked by the distributing agency, and must be frozen at some time prior to being eaten.
All donated venison must be distributed by May 1.
Approval for participation is required annually.

If you want a successful Share the Harvest program:

Knowledgeable, enthusiastic processors are a vital key to a successful program. Likewise the coordinating organization needs to take an active role in promoting the program. Having volunteers available at deer processing plants during the firearms deer season to personally contact hunters, hand out literature and answer questions about the program will greatly increase donations. However, don’t interfere with the meat processor’s business.