Hunters who feed from Illinois have the chance to deal with meals insecurity all through the state connecting hunters, meat processors and meals pantries.
Throughout the 2024-25 deer looking season, this system offered 24,278 deer kilos to 54 native meals pantries. The hunters donated 584 deer to 20 native meat processors, growing entry to lean protein within the middle and south of Illinois.
“All of the deer meat that’s donated stays native, of which we’re actually proud, and the financing that’s collected additionally stays native,” Kaitlyn Streitmatter, a senior supervisor of the schooling of the Illinois Diet Diet Help Program within the extension of the College of Illinois. “The hunt is going on regionally, supporting our native households and native meat processors.”
The method begins when a hunter donates meat to a neighborhood meals processor. Streitmatter stated this system helps handle the issue of deer discomfort, particularly in areas the place looking is well-liked and deer is related to the group. The hunters who’ve extra meat than they want can donate it to households of their communities.
“This can be a means wherein hunters can use their looking ardour after which additionally give again their group donating the surplus deer they can’t use at house,” stated Meredith Probst, or of I Extension Training Educator.
After the donation, Illinois meals financially helps meals processors transformed by deer harvested into floor meat. Probst defined that in recent times or extension would reimburse the meat processors, however affiliate with the meals of Illinois helps the reimbursement course of to be softer.
“With our affiliation with Illinois meals, they will really reimburse our meat processors month-to-month, a weekly base or for a lot of invoices that the meat processors despatched to the Illinois meals, they had been in a position to reimburse on a extra rational and quicker course of than the one which our course of was the final two years,” Probst to Farmweek advised.
Streitmatter added that the deer donation program included in Invoice 2160 of the Illinois Senate to rationalize the refund course of. If authorised, the laws would set up the Hunter Meals Financial institution Fund to assist subsidies in order that meals banks pay processors for donated deer.
Illinois hunters additionally assist meals processors discover meals pantries for associations. The I extension of I offers schooling on deer meat to meals pantries, together with recipes, tastings, meals security directions and brochures to assist prospects put together meat at house.
The target is to increase the scope of the Hunters Feeding Illinois program. It has already grown from 11 to 44 counties in three years, however Probst and Streitmatter hope to see that it turns into a state program.
“If a county is , if there’s a meat processor, if there’s a meals pantry, then we’re open to increase to that county,” stated Probst, added that the one stipulation is that deer can’t be accepted from the counties that face persistent put on illness. “If the county doesn’t have CWD, you possibly can donate to an related meat processor inside the program, in any of the taking part counties.”
Hunters, meat processors or meals pantry serious about getting concerned can go to extension.illinois.edu for extra info. Donations to the Hunters Feeding Illinois program can be carried out via the web site.