MassWildlife’s Hunters Share the Harvest Program

MassWildlife's Hunters Share the Harvest program provides an outlet for hunters to donate venison to Massachusetts residents facing food insecurity. Since the program's inception, more than 20,000 meals have been distributed to families in need.

This program provides the opportunity for hunters to donate and share venison with those in need, while supporting forest conservation by utilizing hunting for population management. Regulated hunting is a safe activity that brings communities together through the sharing of food, skills, and time spent outdoors with nature. Free range, organic venison is a healthy source of lean protein with a low carbon footprint that already provides more than 1.8 million meals of venison to hunters and families across Massachusetts each year. Licensed hunters play an important role in wildlife management in Massachusetts, and now successful hunters can help combat hunger and food insecurity in their communities by donating venison. 

Download a printable program flier  Browse venison recipes 

How to donate your deer

For inclusion in the program deer must be:

• Recovered and field dressed within 4 hours after shot unless the ambient air temperature stays below 37°F. 
• Dropped off whole and field dressed to a participating processor within 24 hours after shot.
• Legally reported and tagged with a confirmation number.

Donation options

Donate an entire deer
With the support of donors, hunters who donate their full deer pay no processing or packaging fees. 

Donate a portion of your deer
Hunters can choose to donate a portion of their deer if it is processed entirely at an approved processor following all program requirements.

• Donate at least 15 pounds of processed venison from your deer and receive $50 off the cost of processing.
• Donate at least 30 pounds of processed venison from your deer and receive $100 off the cost of processing.

Note: Some processors may choose not to allow partial donations. Each processor sets their own processing cost.

Hunter contributions
Hunters must purchase all required licenses/permits. These costs may be tax deductible as a donation. Discuss with a tax professional. 

Participating processors

To participate in the program, deer must be dropped off whole and field dressed at one of the following approved processors:

A Arena & Sons Inc
159 Ash St, Hopkinton, MA
[phone] 

FreeRangers Farm Butchery
2 Montello St, Unit 6, Carver, MA
[phone] (call ahead)

Haskins Custom Butchering 
308 Silver St, Hanover, MA
[phone]

Hunter’s Quality Deer Processing
192 Silver St, Monson, MA
[phone] (text preferred or call ahead) 

Island Grown Initiative - Whole deer donation only
35 Panhandle Rd, West Tisbury, MA
[phone]

Jason & Angel Deer Processing - Whole deer donation only
220 Milestone Rd, Nantucket, MA
[phone]
[phone]
Call or text ahead

John the Butcher
18 Charlesgate Rd, Billerica, MA
[phone]

Kerev Butchery
330 Spring Hill Rd, Barre, MA
[phone] (call ahead) 

Raymond Rose Venison Processing
53 Railroad Ave, Taunton, MA
[phone] (call or text ahead) 

Ventura’s Meat Market 
386 Lawton St, #4, Fall River, MA
[phone]

MassWildlife's Northeast District office* - Whole deer donation only
85 Fitchburg Road, Ayer, MA 01432
[phone]

*Whole, field dressed deer can be dropped off weekdays between 7:30–4:00.

Program impact

Processed venison from the Hunters Share the Harvest Program is distributed through partnering food programs, including:

• Daniel’s Table
• Food4Vets
• Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
• Franklin Food Pantry
• Greater Fall River Community Food Pantry
• Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe
• IGI Island Food Pantry
• Kinship Heals
• Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry
• Ludlow Veterans Center
• Nantucket Food, Fuel, & Rental Assistance
• Nipmuc Land Project: Pequoig Farm
• Northampton Survival Center
• Nourishing Nantucket
• Worcester County Food Bank
• Yarmouth Food Pantry

MassWildlife launched the Hunters Share the Harvest Program in 2022 with a single venison donation site. In the pilot year, generous hunters donated more than 3,000 meals of venison to families in need. The program has grown rapidly and in 2023, approximately 17,800 meals were distributed.

Support MassWildlife's Hunters Share the Harvest Program

Donations help cover the processing and packaging costs for donated meat. A donation of $50 will provide about 75 servings of meat for families in need.

Program logistics and equipment support provided by the National Deer Association and Mass Audubon.

Monetary support provided by: Berkshire County League of Sportsmen, Massachusetts Conservation Alliance, Middleboro Sportsmens Club, Plymouth County League of Sportsmen, Safari Club International New England Foundation, Schwab Charitable Foundation, Somerset Sportsman's Club Inc, Worcester County League of Sportsmen, and individual donors like you!

How to make a monetary donation:

Online: Go to the MassFishHunt Donate Page and add a donation to "Hunters Share the Harvest" to your cart. Use a credit card to pay and follow the instructions to log in to an existing MassFishHunt account or check out as a guest.

By mail: Make checks payable to Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (please write HSH Program in the memo) and mail it to:

MassWildlife
Attn: Hunters Share the Harvest Program
1 Rabbit Hill Rd
Westborough, MA 01581

Help MassWildlife expand

MassWildlife plans to expand donation and distribution locations in the coming years. Meat processors, food pantries, hunger relief agencies, or other organizations who want to participate in MassWildlife’s Hunters Share the Harvest program in the future should contact Martin Feehan, MassWildlife’s Deer and Moose Project Leader, at [e-mail].

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MassWilldife's Hunters Share the Harvest was featured in Massachusetts Wildlife magazine. Read the full article, Sharing the Harvest.