SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is asking hunters to donate to the Hunters Helping the Hungry program, which helps feed individuals and families in need across the state throughout the holiday season.
Hunters who are interested in donating should take their deer to a participating meat processor where it will be ground, packaged and frozen. Then, the Mountaineer Food Bank in Gassaway and Facing Hunger Foodbank in Huntington, will collect the meat and disperse it throughout a network of over 600 food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers, shelters and other charitable organizations across the state.
Every year, on the first Sunday in November, donations are also accepted through the “Share the Harvest Sunday” fundraiser, hosted in partnership with the West Virginia Council of Churches.
Since its inception in 1992, the program has processed over 1.1 million pounds of venison from 92,259 donated deer, making roughly 1.5 million meals. Last year, hunters provided 433 deer, which produced 17,187 pounds of venison and made 22,916 meals for families.
The WVDNR is also looking for certified meat processors to join the program. Processors need to be certified by either the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. Processors will be reimbursed $3 per pound of venison processed.
Interested parties should contact Trevor Moore, WVDNR’s Hunters Helping the Hungry program coordinator, at 304-924-6211 or via email at trevor.m.moore@wv.gov. For more information, visit WVdnr.gov/hunters-helping-the-hungry.
