Put Your Extra Deer Meat Towards a Good Cause

Think you may end up with extra deer this hunting season?

The North Dakota Community Action Partnership wants to remind you that extra meat can be put to good use.

On average, deer have a lot of meat.

You can get about 20 to 30 pounds and a good hunter can easily bite off more than they can chew in a hunting season.

If you find yourself with some extra game on your hands, you can donate it to Sportsmen Against Hunger.

All you have to do is take your animal to your nearest participating meat processing center.

For Fargo–Moorhead locals, that would be Casselton Cold Storage.

There are a few restrictions though.

“We prefer to have the hind–end intact, that’s where the most meat is at,” said Casselton Cold Storage owner, Michelle Halverson.

Also, only full deer carcasses are accepted.

“It’s hard to donate just a portion because of the processing costs and so on,” explained Halverson.

As long as you follow those rules, donating is completely free.

“We cover the processing fees and then once the meat is all ready to be picked up, we contact our food pantries,” said Martha Moe with the North Dakota Community Action Partnership.

Once the meat is processed and packaged, it’s off to the food pantries.

And the donated meat is well received.

“I think people are really surprised by it and I think for people who either have hunted themselves or just really prefer some of those more natural foods, they’re really delighted to have it as one of their options,” said Executive Director of the Emergency Food Pantry in Fargo, Stacie Logering.

For the past couple of years, Moe says about 2,000 pounds of meat are collected each year between goose season and deer season but this year, because of increased deer populations and the elk reduction, they estimate they’ll bring in 5,000 pounds.

To check out a full list of participating meat processors by clicking this link.