Ever since whitetail deer season has kicked off experts at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department have been strongly encouraging hunters to use all of their deer tags this year, and if possible to do it as early as possible. Texas has an estimated whitetail deer population between 3.7 million and 4.2 million animals and if nothing is done to curb the population soon, millions of animals will starve to death this winter as food and water sources continue to rapidly dwindle. And, whitetail deer can drastically impact their habitat. But what do you do with all that meat if you harvest two (2) bucks and (3) does as allowed in most Texas counties? Donate it. You can actually help the less fortunate in Texas by donating the extra meat to Hunters for the Hungry, a wonderful program administered by The Texas Association of Community Action Agencies, Inc. According to the group, just last year alone 97 meat processors donated 167,840 pounds of venison meat to 99 agencies in Texas helping alleviate hunger and malnutrition.

To donate your extra deer to needy Texans, you just have to drop your legally tagged, field dressed deer to a participating meat processor. There’s almost 100 of them scattered about throughout Texas. There’s a small processing fee (typically $35-$40). In exchange you will receive a receipt for your tax-deductible donation of the processing fee. The meat processor will take it from there, grinding up the meat and wrapping it up into one-pound packages that are then delivered to local assistance providers. Click here to find a participating meat processor near you. Learn more about Hunters for the Hungry here, or call 1-800-992-9767, ext. 506 or email hfth@tacaa.org