Share the Harvest

Share the Harvest: Turning Harvested Deer Into Hope for Missouri Families

Since the early 1990s, when a group of archery hunters near Columbia, Missouri dreamed of helping families in need, Share the Harvest has grown from a modest idea to a powerful statewide tradition. What started as roughly 3,000 pounds of donated venison in the program’s first year has blossomed into hundreds of thousands of pounds annually — reaching tens of thousands of Missourians through local food banks and pantries. 

In partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Share the Harvest works like this: hunters who harvest deer — whether a portion or the whole deer — donate the meat to licensed, approved processors. These processors carefully grind, package, and freeze the venison. From there the meat is distributed to food banks and pantries across the state, ready for families to take home. 

The program depends on generous hunters, supportive processors, sponsors, local charities, and volunteers — a coalition committed to serving neighbors in need. Over the decades, this collaboration has put lean, healthy, protein‑rich venison into grocery‑bags for thousands of families who might otherwise struggle for access to nutritious meat. 

Now, this year, we want to expand Share the Harvest further. Every donated deer helps, but processing and packaging costs are real. For many hunters, the cost to process a whole deer — when donated — often becomes a barrier. That’s where the power of community support comes in.

By supporting this fundraiser, you help cover the processing costs. Just $100 covers a full deer — enough to feed a family multiple meals, and enough to ensure the meat reaches a local food pantry instead of going to waste. With your generosity, we can process more donated deer and help even more Missourians facing food insecurity.

Your donation doesn’t just fund processing — it fuels compassion, conserves resources, and strengthens communities. It honors Missouri’s rich hunting and conservation legacy while putting real, tangible food on the tables of our neighbors.

Join us. Help turn each harvest into hope. Help Share the Harvest bring nourishment — and dignity — to families across Missouri.