How to donate meat?

[masai]

Hi! I've trying to figure out how to make the best use of any hunt. Planning a couple of trips this fall and I won't be able to consume 100% of the meat. I know how to butcher and debone but still can't pack it all in my freezer or even fly back with 350 pounds of meat to Florida.

>> The first trip is to CO and can't fly back with 300 pounds of meat: Is there an online data base of places that accept meat? Apparently individual people only can accept up to 20 pounds, this means I have to make 15 donations to distribute 300 pounds of meat (an Ill keep 50 pounds for me).

Any help or recommendations are welcome!

 

[JimP]

Find a meat processor in the area that you are going to be hunting in. You can donate a unlimited amount of "processed and packaged" meat to anyone at anytime. You will usually have to pay for the processing and packaging.

 

[masai]

Thank you, Jim. Do I have to pay for the meat I donate also?

 

[drifli]

I am good friends with some older people in my community , many of these grew up with there parents hunting and themselves but are to old to hunt now. These same folks love deer meat and many of them eat things and prefer them like the hart that I can't stomach.

I assume every community has a generation or generations I just described, who for one reason or another can no longer harvest wild game themselves, find these people and help them out. I know this doesn't help answer your question directly but just maybe someone in the area can put you in touch with some of these folks.

 

[JimP]

You don't have to pay to donate it but just to have it processed. More than likely the shop that would grind it up into burger will know of needed people or a organization that would accept the meat.

 

[HuskyMusky]

I think some meat processors here in IL will actually process your deer and donate it to the needy for free... I may be wrong, but agree call some processors and ask...

or google hunters feeding the hungry.... something like that... may produce some results

 

[WY ME]

In Wyoming you have to pay the processing fee for any meat you want to donate.

 

[tdcour]

largely depends on the state. SD and KS where I have lived have programs where you take your deer in to be processed at certain butchers and they donate it for you. Some you have to pay for processing others you don't. I haven't looked into CO to see if they have that or not. It may be worth a call to the Game and Fish to get their take on it as well. I'm sure they would be able to point you in a good and legal way of donating the meat.

 

[johnsd16]

https://www.fhfh.org/find-chapters-and-butchers.html

 

[Multi-SpeciesHunter]

What I know as far as actual organizations that the butchers are affiliated with is based state to state. I know in MN we donate whitetails every season but in ND we haven't ever had the option but we also haven't sought it out (we shoot less deer in ND). It is offered to us in MN when we show up at the butcher (we don't always want to butcher 4-7 deer ourselves).

 

[tim]

I had a deer ground in to burger and donated it to the food bank. yes, I paid for the butcher bill. my local food bank would only take professionally processed game meat.

 

[480/277]

I am accepting all elk and sheep meat donations.....
No cost to you )))

As an aside, get a receipt for any meat you donate, especially if the state you hunt has wonton waste laws.

 

[WY ME]

As an aside, get a receipt for any meat you donate, especially if the state you hunt has wonton waste laws.

Good advice 480/277

I had 2 Wyoming game wardens in my drive way a few years ago. They saw I had a frozen quarter of an elk in the back of my truck which I was going to give to my neighbor across the street. The wardens threatened to give me a fine if I didn't go to town (30 minutes away) and get a donation receipt before I could give the meat away. They also gave me a written warning ticket for illegal transport of meat even though I had my license and carcass coupon in the truck. They said the carcass coupon should be with the rest of the elk that was hanging in a friends garage because there was more meat there. What???