On the opening weekend of firearm season, 55 deer were donated to Share the Harvest at Columbia’s Bass Pro Shops, according to operations manager Chris Baker.
Meat collected by the Share the Harvest program is donated to the Central Missouri Food Bank and help feed Columbia residents in need.
Last year, 30,000 pounds of meat were donated to the 145 agencies and 33 counties the food bank serves in its mid-Missouri service area. according to Jessica Spanglehour, director of development at the food bank.
While she cannot gauge how many deer will come in this season, Spanglehour said the company is “grateful for every deer that comes in.”
Since its inception in 1992, Share the Harvest has donated approximately 1,414,664 pounds of meat statewide, according to the Conservation Federation of Missouri website.
Share the Harvest depends on Missouri hunters to donate deer.
At Bass Pro Shops, hunters are able to bring deer to the store’s front parking lot on Saturdays and Sundays during firearm season.
From the store, deer are put into a truck and taken to a processing plant.
Hunters do not have to pay a fee to have the meat processed because the Conservation Federation of Missouri covers the cost, according to Dave Murphy, executive director of the federation.
Although visitors to Bass Pro Shops may be surprised to see hunters and their deer in front of the store, Baker said that he does not receive much negative feedback.
“Once you explain to people what the cause is for (they understand). They don’t realize how in need the food bank is of meat,” he said.
– Jess Grunberg
ps. Deer can still be donated! If you want to contribute, you can drop your deer off at Columbia’s Bass Pro this weekend.
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