Support Local Food Banks with Donated Venison this Hunting Season
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife is again partnering with Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) to support local food banks with donated venison. With a $30,000 grant from the Division of Wildlife, FHFH and participating processors donate harvested white-tailed deer to charitable organizations throughout Ohio.
Hunters who harvest a deer and would like to donate the venison can bring it to one of 34 certified deer processing shops in Ohio. Each donated deer is provided to a verified charitable organization that offers food assistance. One harvested deer yields approximately 50 pounds of venison, which equates to about 200 meals. Find the complete list of processors accepting donations of harvested deer at feedingthehungry.org. Hunters who donate their harvested deer are not required to pay for the processing of the venison.
This program encourages the harvest of deer for the purpose of wildlife management in Ohio, as well as provides for the wise and charitable use of the wildlife resource for direct public benefit. During the 2023-24 deer hunting season, FHFH coordinated the processing of 1,157 deer donated by Ohio hunters. Seventy-nine charitable organizations then distributed the venison.
Ohio’s deer archery hunting season is open until Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. Statewide gun seasons are Monday, Dec. 2 until Sunday, Dec. 8, and again Dec. 21-22. The muzzleloader season is from Saturday, Jan. 4 to Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Hunting licenses and deer permits are available on the HuntFish OH app, at wildohio.gov, or at any license vendor.
Venison is a lean meat with high nutritional value. Wild Ohio Harvest provides a variety of delicious recipes for deer, turkey, fish, and small game. Check out the Wild Ohio Harvest Cookbook for ideas on cooking venison and other wild game.
