Judy Kramer
County Reporter
Deer hunters are being reminded to Share the Harvest and donate excess venison to help feed hungry Missourians. Benton County hunters can donate the venison to Jackman Meat Processing at 36866 Jackman Avenue and they will process it based on availabilty. -The WARM House expects to start distributing the processed, ground venison to clients in November.
Missouri’s deer season opened with archery hunting on September 15, and will close with the second archery portion on January 15. Since 1992, the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) and Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) have administered the Share the Harvest program. MDC and The WARM House in Warsaw partner to try and cover the cost of processing, and Jackman Meat Processing does all the work. If there is an excess of venison in The WARM House freezers, its volunteers take some to the Benton County Food Pantry for further distribution and to the Senior Center to be offered as a meal choice.
“When clients come to The WARM House, they get a choice of venison or hamburger,” said The WARM House Board Secretary Rosie Wall. “There is usually more deer meat available than hamburger, so clients get more servings if they choose venison. For those who think they might not like the taste of deer meat, we give suggestions how to mix it with spaghetti sauce or use it to make sloppy joes so it is hard to detect a difference from hamburger.”
Wall said that The WARM House freezers are usually filled two times during deer season, and the state requires that the donated venison be distributed before May 1, motivating volunteers to pass out as much as possible in March and April. The May 1 deadline does not affect the Senior Center, so venison may be a menu option for a longer time. Wall said that less venison was donated last year than in previous years, but she hopes the amount will be back to normal this year.
Jackman’s is the only approved Benton County Share the Harvest deer processor. The county is not in the chronic wasting disease zone where deer must be tested. Hunters who donate a portion of their venison must pay processing fees, but if they donate a whole carcass (minus the antlers) the processing is free.
Jackman’s had not received any donations as of last week, and staff said that most of the donations take place during rifle season. Mdc.mo.gov reports that 65 percent of the total deer season harvest takes place during the November portion of firearms deer season.
Firearms: Anterless portions of deer season takes place October 6 to 8, and December 2 to 10. Firearms: Youth Portions are October 28-29, and November 24-26. Firearms: November Portion is November 22-21, and Firearms: CWD Portion is November 22-26.
