In the state of Missouri, we have something that is called Share the Harvest.  Share the Harvest gives deer hunters a way to donate venison to the needy.

Share the Harvest is supported by Missouri Department of Conservation and Conservation Federation of Missouri.

Share the Harvest makes donating venison to the less fortunate very easy. Any hunter who wishes to participate in the good deed can take their deer to an approved meat processor. From there, the hunter must tell the processor how much venison they would like to donate.

There is no limit to how much you can donate. Many donate a few pounds while some donate the whole deer. It is solely up to the hunter who is donating.

Only venison from white-tailed deer legally taken in the state of Missouri will be accepted for donation.

The meat is then packaged by the processor, picked up by the local sponsoring organization and taken to a participating charitably agency for distribution.  The meat is delivered to the families frozen.

There are a large number of people in Missouri who can benefit from this program. Families or individuals can contact a participating distribution agency and the agency will then allocate the venison according to the supply.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon strongly encourages all hunters to donate venison to Share the Harvest. “I thank all the hunters who have made Share the Harvest so successful over the past two decades, and I encourage even more Missouri hunters to get involved this year to help our neighbors in need,” Nixon said.

Nixon is planned to visit three cities to push Share the Harvest.  He was expected to visit Columbia, Independence, and St. Charles to speak at Bass Pro Shops to further encourage deer hunters to donate their venison.

During the 2011 deer seasons, 6,191 hunters donates 317,882 pounds of venison to families in need all across Missouri.

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.

To get information on participating meat processors within your county, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation website.

J&G Meat Processing in Puxico is a participating processor for Stoddard County.

We’d like to encourage everyone to get involved in an easy way to help provide meat for needy families or individuals in Missouri!