Local food pantries across the state are preparing to receive donations from the Hunters Against Hunger program. Locally, the CSKT Peoples Food Sovereignty Program will receive game processed by Round Butte Custom Cuts in Ronan.

This partnership between Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Montana Food Bank Network allows hunters to donate a portion or all of their legally harvested big game animals to be processed free of charge. The meat is then provided directly to a local food pantry in the area.

Since its inception in 2014, more than 373,464 pounds of meat have been donated through the program and distributed to Montanans experiencing food insecurity through 29 food pantry sites. Meat is extremely expensive for food pantries to provide yet, it’s a highly nutritious resource for their clients.

“When people walk in and see that we have a freezer full of wild game, they light up,” said Susan and Jay Wood, co-founders of Southwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry and Services, about the impact of the program.

Participation by local meat processors and hunters are the keys to success for this growing program. Big game donations (deer, elk, antelope, moose and wild buffalo) can only be accepted as part of the program by authorized participating meat processors set up around the state.

Only legally harvested or confiscated big game animals can be donated – no road kill is accepted – and participating processors get reimbursed up to $3 per pound for the finished product.

For a full list of authorized processors visit the Montana Food Bank Network website at mfbn.org/hunters-against-hunger.

To offset the cost of processing, hunters purchasing a Montana hunting license are given the opportunity to make a monetary donation to this program. Additional donations to the program are being accepted by Montana Food Bank Network.

For more information on the Hunters Against Hunger program, contact MFBN’s Programs Coordinator Cyrus Turbak at 406-215-1772, cturbak@mfbn.org.