Hunters for the Hungry perfect solution for deer overkill

ALBANY — What are hunters to do when they need to harvest more deer from their property than they could ever eat? The Georgia Wildlife Federation is helping solve their dilemma with a win-win program. Through the Hunters for the Hungry program, they have set the goal of processing 120,000 pounds of venison for distribution to food banks across the state. Through the combined efforts of hunters, deer processors and sponsors, this year’s goal is achievable.

Since 1993, Hunters for the Hungry has been providing high-protein, low-fat, organic meat to local food banks across the state. Adam Schiavone, who is responsible for the program, said hunters wanting to donate deer can drop their kill off at one of the participating processors, a list of which can be found on the federation’s website, gwf.org/hfth. The site has a map providing the location and contact information for participating processors. There are about 40 currently participating in the program, Schiavone said.

“We have about eight more processors that are signed up, we just need to get their contracts completed so we can put them on our map,” he said.

At this time, only four participating processors are located in southwest Georgia: Buck Creek Deer Processing in Pelham, Daniel’s Creek Processing in Ashburn, Mossey Creek Outdoors in Dawson and The Rack Shack in Cuthbert.

“We need additional processors from across the state to reach our goal by the end of the 2024-2025 season,” Schiavone said.

The program manager said he hopes to find some additional processors in the region to help meet this goal as well as aid hunters needing to harvest more deer from their property than they can consume. Some processors may require that the deer be field-dressed before delivery, so hunters should call ahead on their first visit.

“We participate because it helps the community and helps those that are trying to manage their herd,” Dan Redmon with Mossey Creek Outdoors said. “A lot would be throwing them away if they had to pay to process them.”

Redmon said the processor will do everything to get the deer ready for donation at his processing facility.

“All they have to do is drop it off,” he said. “We do prefer that they bring them to us as soon as possible (after the kill).”

“We pay participating processors $2.50 a pound for the ground venison, which is on track with their regular processing fees,” Schiavone said.

The average white-tail deer in Georgia generally yields between 35 to 50 pounds of quality meat. Donated meat is packaged and delivered to Georgia food banks.

Any processors interested participating in the program can call Schiavone at (470) 660-3880 or apply on the federation’s website.

Those who do not hunt also can help support the program as sponsors. A $15 contribution will cover the cost of processing enough venison for 40 meals. With more than 1 million Georgians living in hunger and food banks across the state needing meat, Hunters for the Hungry is truly a win-win program.