Hunters: Get Your Game on and Help Montana’s Hungry

For the tenth year, Montana hunters are getting a chance to help the hungry, thanks to a unique and ongoing partnership between Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Montana Food Bank Network.

The arrangement has resulted in hundreds of thousands of pounds of game meat being donated over the years, helping Montana families acquire important protein that is the most expensive to purchase on their own.

Participating processors are an important part of this effort.

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How does Hunters Against Hunger work?

Under the campaign, hunters can donate a portion, or all of their legally harvested big game animals, which are then processed free of charge. The meat is then distributed directly through the local food pantries to each community. Participating processors get reimbursed up to $3 a pound for the finished products.

Big game donations (deer, elk, antelope, moose, and wild buffalo) can only be accepted as part of the program by authorized participating meat processors around Montana. And only legally harvested or confiscated big game animals can be donated, no road kill salvage can be donated.

Hunters are also given the opportunity to make a monetary donation when purchasing their hunting licenses to help with the processing costs.

A big game big success

Since its inception in 2014, over 373,000 pounds of meat have been donated through the program and distributed to Montanans experiencing food insecurity through 29 local food pantry sites.

That's a tremendous help, because for the food pantries, meat is highly nutritious, but also the most expensive.

“When people walk in and see that we have a freezer full of wild game, they light up.” Shared Susan and Jay Wood, Co-Founders of Southwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry and Services.