The East Texas Food Bank is encouraging hunters to donate venison through its Hunters for the Hungry program as deer season begins. The program works with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and sends deer to local food banks. Hunters can bring legally harvested deer to a participating meat processor, which is paid to prepare the venison for distribution.
David Emerson, CEO of the East Texas Food Bank, said many people the food bank serves look forward to fresh venison each year. He said one in six East Texans, including one in four children, face hunger, and that the food bank serves more than 30 million meals a year. He said the program has provided over 12 million servings of venison to hungry Texans.
The food bank has four processors in East Texas that accept deer. The program accepts only deer and only fresh venison. Due to federal restrictions, it cannot accept hog meat or roadkill. Texas Parks and Wildlife said the general white-tailed deer season ends in January, depending on county. Hunting rules are posted at tpwd.texas.gov.