In one week, on Saturday, November 15, 2014, hunters all across Missouri will fan out through the woods for the beginning of the firearm deer season. Archery season is already underway. The 2013-14 deer harvest of 251,924 statewide was almost a 19% decrease from 2012-13. Missouri hunters hope to be more successful this year.

Since 1992, the Missouri deer season has been a success, regardless of the number of deer killed, for another reason. In 1992, Share the Harvest was founded, with the goal of helping to feed thousands of people across Missouri. According to numerous studies, there are about 1 in 5 people in Missouri who rely on some type of food service to provide some or all of their food needs. The Share the Harvest program is a partnership between the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Conservation Federation of Missouri. The program encourages hunters to donate part or all of their deer meat for processing and distribution to more than 200 Missouri food banks.

Hunters who want to make a donation can take their deer to an approved processing plant, and simply tell the processor how much venison they wish to donate, from just a few pounds to the whole deer. 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.

In 2013, 4,487 hunters donated 227,358 pounds of venison for Missourians. More than 2,000,000 pounds of venison have been donated since the beginning of the program.

More than 130 meat processors around the state participate in the Share the Harvest program. In our region, participating processors include: Ozark Meats in Grandin, Missouri 573-593-4199 and Piedmont Processing 573-223-4950.

The attorneys and staff of Kennedy, Kennedy, Robbins & Yarbro, LC, wish you good luck this hunting season and encourage you to consider making a donation to Share the Harvest.