Hunters Can Donate Deer to Help Feed Hungry Hoosiers

Deer hunting season starts Saturday in Indiana.

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INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Conservation Officers encourage Indiana hunters to donate harvested deer to help feed hungry Hoosiers.

The Sportsmen’s Benevolence Fund administered by the DNR Division of Law Enforcement provides grants to Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry, the Dubois County Sportsmen Club, and Hunters and Farmers Feeding the Hungry to pay for processing fees when hunters donate legally harvested deer.

 Participating in the program is simple:

1. Enjoy a deer hunting experience.
2. Harvest a deer.
3. Drop off the field-dressed deer at a local participating processor.
4. Processing fees are paid for by the Sportsmen's Benevolence Fund.
5. The processor will create healthy venison burger to distribute to food banks.

The participating organizations notify food banks throughout Indiana when venison is ready to be collected from certified Sportsmen’s Benevolence Fund butchers. The food banks distribute venison to soup kitchens and food pantries. 

As a result of the 2021 deer hunting seasons, Hoosier hunters donated 879 harvested deer that resulted in 45,326 pounds of venison being donated. 

For information on donating your harvested deer and participating processors, please visit sbf.IN.gov.