Hunters can help local food pantries through state’s deer donation program

With stories surrounding supplemental food benefits in many nationwide headlines lately, it’s notable to point out that the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offers a deer donation program this time of year, where hunters who successfully harvest a deer have the option to give their meat to food pantries and support those who face hunger in the state.

According to a press release issued by the DNR last month reminding hunters of the deer donation program, the state Department of Health Services (DHS) reported that more than 700,000 Wisconsin residents (or 12 percent of the population) received food benefits last year and the demand is expected to rise. 

More than 100,000 deer have been donated through the program since its inception in 2000, the press release says, which equals over 4 million pounds of ground venison. 

Marcus Rufledt, DNR wildlife program specialist, manages the deer donation program. 

He said other states have similar programs. 

The DNR doesn’t directly accept deer donations.

Rufledt said the state works with different meat processors around the state that sign-up to participate. 

“They’ll get reimbursed for the processing costs and then they’ll work with a local pantry to make the processed venison available for their patrons,” he said.

For the most part, the deer donation program is successful across the state, however, there are some “pockets” where there’s voids. 

Those areas, Rufledt said, can be seen in parts of northern Wisconsin and southern Wisconsin. 

“All in all, I think we have a pretty good participation rate,” he said. “I think we got 57 processors across the state right now in 40-something counties. So a majority of counties are going to have a processor nearby and hopefully you don’t have to drive more than 30 minutes if you’re really determined to donate a deer, but yeah, we’re always looking for more processors to fill in those gaps and get more meat to the pantries.”

That said, Rufledt said the DNR is satisfied with the amount of processors that participate.

“Hopefully we can (still) start to grow the program a little bit,” he said. “Maybe figure out some ways to improve to make it easier for the processors … it’s just a general struggle just with the capacity of the meat processing industry … they have trouble finding labor and they can’t take the added stress from accepting more deer than would be normal for them, and then the CWD (chronic wasting disease) testing requirements. Those are kind of the two biggest hurdles from probably getting more participation.”

In certain counties, the DNR requires hunters to submit their harvest for CWD testing. 

The DNR coordinates the deer donation program in conjunction with DHS. 

Rufledt said that the state agency provides guidance on CWD testing requirements. 

“So we’ll give them all of our testing information from the previous year,” he said. “They’ll look at the amounts (of deer) that test positive (in a county) and if they meet certain thresholds then they’ll recommend testing requirements of just adult deer or all deer for a county. So that’s where those testing requirements come in. They require those for any meat that’s going to a food pantry for distribution.”

This will be Rufledt’s first full deer season managing the deer donation program. He started overseeing the program during October of 2024. 

He said last year the program received about 1,100 deer. 

“We usually calculated an average of 40 pounds per deer so you’re looking at over 40,000 pounds of venison,” Rufledt said. “You know, calculate that out on a per serving per meal basis, that’s over 150,000 meals that went to those pantries. So I think that could do a lot of work in introducing those pantries’ patrons to the staple food of venison.”

Lastly, Rufledt highlighted the deer donation partners program. 

“So like local hunting groups or organizations or volunteer groups, or something like that, wants to sponsor a dropoff site — where maybe they have a trailer or refrigerated truck, or something like that — where they can accept donated deer from hunters that aren’t in an area that don’t have a participating processor nearby,” he said. “They can take in those deer for them, log all the donation information and then, when it’s convenient for them, transport however many deer they collect to the nearest participating processor, which might 30 minutes to an hour away that’s inconvenient for an individual hunter, but … get them processed and bring them back to their local pantry.”

Hunters interested in donating a deer to the state’s deer donation program can do so by contacting Rufledt. His contact information can be found on the DNR’s deer donation webpage, where a list of where to donate can also be found.

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].