Liza Ann Spalding has been training since the summer.
The six-year-old girl from Coxs Creek, just outside of Bardstown, finally put her practice to use when she harvested her first deer, shooting it with a crossbow and using her dog to track it.
And while she eagerly awaits the return of her taxidermy mount to showcase her hunt, Liza Ann, supported by her mother and lifelong hunter Natalie Spalding, chose to donate that deer and a second she got at a later date, to Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry, a nonprofit focused on fighting food insecurity and assisting the state in wildlife management of the deer population.
“I’m very proud of her just, first of all, harvesting a deer at a young age, being mature enough and strong enough to run through the woods and track it down with me and a dog and participate,” said Spalding, who also handles marketing for Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry. “And I’m very proud of her on that stewardship of giving back.”
For many, the start of November brings preparations for a Thanksgiving feast. And for the tens of thousands of people like Liza Ann and Natalie who hunt deer across Kentucky annually, November also brings the highly anticipated modern gun deer season, which opens Nov. 9 this year and runs for two weeks, through Nov. 24
While turkey hunting season also runs through November — the month associated with large turkey dinners — Kentuckians largely prefer deer hunting, Rachel Crume with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources told the Courier Journal.
Fall deer hunting is the busiest season for Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry and arrives just in time to support a network of more than 165 food banks across the Commonwealth ahead of the holidays, said Roger LaPointe, executive director of Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry.
Last year, the program received roughly 3,000 deer donations, creating more than 480,000 meals for Kentuckians in need. This year, the organization hopes to collect 4,000 or more donated deer.
“I don’t think people realize the amount of food insecure individuals within this state,” Spalding said. “Most of us are fortunate to have enough food, and I don’t think we realize how many people struggle with that and that’s even more so during the holidays.”
What is Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry?
The nonprofit organization based in Louisville was officially incorporated in 2000 to “encourage hunters to harvest and donate deer each season” in an effort to provide a hearty and healthy food source for Kentuckians facing hunger.
“The program gives all hunters an outlet to give back to the community while doing something they already enjoy doing,” Spalding said.
Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry, founded by sportsmen, is comprised of 14 unpaid board members, including LaPointe who is retired, and Tom Hebert, chairman of Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry, who are passionate about the alleviation of hunger and deer population management.
“Right now, the need has never been greater, especially for protein,” LaPointe said. “Food banks get a lot of canned goods, a lot of vegetables, a lot of junk food, chips and snacks and stuff like that, but very little protein. So, this is a great way for us to provide that protein at no cost to the food banks, and it’s disseminated across the Commonwealth.”
Over the last decade, Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry has grown substantially, LaPointe and Hebert said.
Through intentional outreach and strengthening partnerships across the state with other organizations — everywhere from churches to Dare to Care and state government agencies — Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry is bolstering awareness to bring in more deer donations to help feed more people.
“Two or three times a week somebody’s reaching out, saying, ‘We can’t make ends meet. We need some help. Can you do something for us?'” Hebert, who is also a real estate agent, said. “[Food banks are] dependent on how many deer we get. The whole program is dependent on how many donations we get.”
LaPointe said recently there’s been an increase in younger generations donating to the program. Additionally, growth is being led by female hunters and hunters of color.
“A lot of new hunters want to hunt, but they don’t know what to do with the deer. They can’t eat all of it,” LaPointe said. “A lot of college students, because they want to get involved with a cause to do good, this provides them an outlet to help give back to the community.”
How Hunters for the Hungry helps those in need across Kentucky
At The Healing Place, a recovery program facility in downtown Louisville for people battling addiction, the venison provided by Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry is more than just food on the table.
Jay Davidson, executive chairman of The Healing Place, said the deer meat donations “fit a really needed niche” by helping the program work toward holistic wellness and healing.
“There’s a real emphasis today on wellness and wellness eating and food banks and underserved communities that don’t have the quality of food that they need, that’s carrying over into even the treatment of addiction, because we’re trying to treat the whole person,” Davidson said. “It’s more than just getting the guys some venison, it’s actually helping them have a well-balanced meal that’s got protein, and it helps them in their recovery.”
The Healing Place which serves about 2,100 meals daily, has come to rely on the protein from Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry, but also the “role-modeling” the organization provides by showcasing how people can help their own communities through an activity about which they’re passionate.
“It’s … absolutely critical that we have organizations like Hunters for the Hungry that care about and have a passion about their mission and care about reaching out and helping the underserved,” Davidson said.
How you can donate to Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry
The deer donation program is largely supported by the 65 meat processors across the Bluegrass State that provide free or reduced-price processing of the deer meat.
The processors, such as Kingsley Meats & Catering at 2701 Taylorsville Road in Louisville, collect the deer from hunters in a refrigerated drop box and then grind the meat into one-to-two-pound packages that will then be hauled and distributed to food banks within the local community of the processor.
“What we like to do is keep it local to the community … because I know that deer meat is going to their neighbors,” LaPointe said.
For hunters wanting to donate deer, here are the steps to follow:
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After shooting the deer, perform a standard field dress.
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Check the deer in with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources through the telecheck system.
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Take the field-dressed deer to a participating processor. The closest processor to you can be found on the Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry website.
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Once the processor has the deer, they will process and package the meat and then coordinate with Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry and local food banks to get the venison distributed to the community.
Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @oliviamevans_.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry deer meat donations: How to help
