URBANA, Ill. — Hunters Feeding Illinois returns for its fourth season, in partnership with Feeding Illinois, Access Illinois Outdoors, Southern Illinois Food Pantry Network, and University of Illinois Extension SNAP-Education.
Hunters Feeding Illinois has the mission to connect hunters, meat processors, and food pantries to support access to lean protein for Illinois residents and families. Food pantries in 50 Illinois counties are participating in the program this year.
"Around 1 in 8 people in Illinois struggle to access food, with higher rates in two-thirds of the program coverage area," says Michelle Fombelle, Illinois Extension SNAP-Ed educator. "Protein foods are expensive, and Hunters Feeding Illinois makes it possible for Illinois individuals and families to stretch their food budget.”
Program Update
University of Illinois Extension SNAP-Education, the originator and leader of Hunters Feeding Illinois, will be ending programming due to funding cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Pub. L. No. 119-21). This will be the last season that SNAP-Ed will be able to support the Hunters program.
Hunters Donate for Free
Like previous years, hunters can donate whole harvested deer at no cost. Partnering meat processors are prepared to accept donated deer with the start of deer hunting season in October. Because processing volume increases throughout the season, hunters are encouraged to call processors in advance to confirm they have slots to accept deer. Processors have a select number of slots for donated deer, which becomes more limited as the season continues.
The following meat processors will be accepting deer donations:
Birkner's Processing, McLeansboro
Bittner’s Meat Company- Eureka, Eureka
Blair's Slaughtering and Processing, Louisville
Charlie's Deer Processing and Smokehouse, Bridgeport
Connelly Locker, Martinsville
Dawning Day Deer Processing, Clayton
Farmhouse Meat Co, Carthage
Fred's Meat and Processing, Ashley
Hilltop Custom Meat, Pittsfield
Houser Meats, Rushville
Howe's Custom Deer Processing, Cowden
Lambdin Farms Processing, Sullivan
Legacy Meats, Sumner
Midstate Meat Co, Springfield
Moweaqua Packing Plant, Moweaqua
Oconee Chop Shop, Oconee
Pike County Custom Meats, Pittsfield
R & M Meat Processing, Ellis Grove
R & R Deer Processing, Vienna
River Bend Wild Game and Sausage Company, St. Joseph
Salt and Strings, Louisville
Sanchez Meat Processing, DuQuoin
Shirley Farms Deer Processing, DeSoto
Triple C Meats, Anna
Turasky Meats, Springfield
Windy Ridge Processing, Shobonier
Join the Match
Thanks to our collaboration with Feeding Illinois, your donation will be doubled dollar for dollar. A $50 donation becomes $100, which covers the processing of one deer. Donate online at go.illinois.edu/deerdonation.
In the 2024-2025 hunting season, Hunters Feeding Illinois distributed 25,794 pounds of frozen, ground venison to 54 food pantries across east-central and southern Illinois. This provided an estimated 97,000 meals, reaching nearly 49,800 families.
Follow along on Facebook, join our email list or visit our website at go.illinois.edu/deerdonation for recipes, videos, and more program information. Have questions or are interested in supporting the program? Email us at Huntersfeeding-IL@illinois.edu.
WRITER: Kaitlyn Streitmatter, family and consumer sciences policy systems and environment senior manager, Illinois Extension.
EDITOR: Herbert Chavez, media communications coordinator, Illinois Extension.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.