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The busiest part of Missouri’s annual deer hunt, the regular firearms season, begins Saturday. About 400,000 people are expected to take part.
It’s a tradition, and sometimes traditions change for the better. Just as the state has broadened deer-hunting opportunities in the last couple of decades, a new tradition has been springing up too. Since the early ’90s, the Share the Harvest program has brought venison to food shelves. The amount donated and the number of people participating have steadily risen year by year.Most hunters can easily take more than the one-deer-a-year of decades past, so that should make it easier to give away some.
Here’s how it works: A hunter takes the animal to a processing plant and states how much of it he wants to give. The processor hangs onto the meat until it’s sent to a food shelf, shelter or feeding center. The processor is reimbursed by the Missouri Conservation Federation, which works with the state Department of Conservation.
The federation last year had to put a cap on the program, so now the administration of Gov. Jay Nixon is offering tax credits that should help the federation expand the program by 75 percent over the next three years.
This makes sense. The deer are abundant, and hunters have shown their generosity. The butcher gets paid for his work. And people who need a little help getting by can eat a little better.
The busiest part of Missouri’s annual deer hunt, the regular firearms season, begins Saturday. About 400,000 people are expected to take part.
It’s a tradition, and sometimes traditions change for the better. Just as the state has broadened deer-hunting opportunities in the last couple of decades, a new tradition has been springing up too. Since the early ’90s, the Share the Harvest program has brought venison to food shelves. The amount donated and the number of people participating have steadily risen year by year.Most hunters can easily take more than the one-deer-a-year of decades past, so that should make it easier to give away some.
Here’s how it works: A hunter takes the animal to a processing plant and states how much of it he wants to give. The processor hangs onto the meat until it’s sent to a food shelf, shelter or feeding center. The processor is reimbursed by the Missouri Conservation Federation, which works with the state Department of Conservation.
The federation last year had to put a cap on the program, so now the administration of Gov. Jay Nixon is offering tax credits that should help the federation expand the program by 75 percent over the next three years.
This makes sense. The deer are abundant, and hunters have shown their generosity. The butcher gets paid for his work. And people who need a little help getting by can eat a little better.
