The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has teamed up with the Food Bank Council of Michigan for the next season of the Hunters Feeding Michigan program.

The DNR’s Joe Presgrove tells us the program is a way for Michigan hunters to donate game they’ve bagged to food pantries to help those in need.

“Those deer that they donate, it’s turned into ground venison, and then that ground venison is distributed across Michigan,” Presgrove said. “So with contract with the Food Bank Council of Michigan, we were able to get that venison out to potentially 2,800 different food pantries across the state.”

The Hunters Feeding Michigan program has been around since 2005, and Presgrove says it makes a difference each year.

“Since October 1 of 2024, over 75,000 pounds of ground venison was donated. We say about 40 pounds per deer and one deer equals about 160 servings. So it goes a long ways.”

Now that the DNR has reached a contract with the Food Bank Council of Michigan, the council will ensure the venison gets sent to suitable food pantries. The DNR previously worked with a different partner.

Any hunters interested in being a part of the program can learn more at the DNR’s website, which also has a list of processors taking part. They include one in Eau Claire.

Meanwhile, the DNR is inviting people to order coffee from DEER CAMP Coffee Roasting Company, which donates a portion of its proceeds to the Hunters Feeding Michigan program.