Deer donations feed the hungry - WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports

Across the state of Wisconsin, deer hunters are donating deer to feed the hungry. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, USDA, Wisconsin Wildlife Damage Program Counties and Hunt for the Hungry join forces with dozens of venison processors to run the program.

Workers at  Country Fresh Meats in Weston predict they will process about 100 deer for the feeding program. The Neighbors Place in Wausau benefits from those donations. Executive Director Tom Rau says, "The donations from hunters ensure that we have meat in the freezer during the winter months." And the needs are very real, Rau adds, "We are seeing about 300 families a week. With the heating season about to start, I imagine we will see even more."

You can donate any legally harvested deer,  taken outside the  Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) zone, at a processor by Feb. 1, 2013. There are processors in 49 of the state's 72 counties taking part.

The program began in 2000, since then, 80,000 deer have been donated to feed the needy adding up to 3.6 million pounds of meat.

For a list of the participating processors check out  the link at the DNR site 

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic