The Illinois Extension serving Edwards, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, and Wayne counties celebrated the end of the 2025-2026 deer hunting season by marking the success of the local Hunters Feeding Illinois initiative. More than 2,600 pounds of venison were donated to area food pantries this fall and winter, helping to support food security in local communities.
Hunters Feeding Illinois enables legally harvested deer to be processed and donated by hunters, with ground venison distributed to food pantries. The program is a collaboration between Illinois Extension, participating meat processors, donors, and hunters.
“This program is really all about making connections,” said SNAP-Ed Educator Alizah Harper, who leads the program. “Hunters want to give back, local donors are willing to cover processing costs, and food pantries need quality protein. When these efforts come together, it helps meet local needs and ensures families in our communities have additional access to nutritious food.”
This season, Charlie’s Deer Processing and Smokehouse in Bridgeport and Legacy Meats in Sumner processed a total of 83 donated deer. Generous local donations covered all processing costs, making the effort possible. In total, 2,698 pounds of ground venison—estimated at 10,792 servings—were delivered to five food pantries within the Feeding Illinois food bank network in Lawrence, Richland, and Wabash counties. Illinois Extension also provided cookbooks, educational materials, kitchen tools, and meat mashers to help food pantry patrons enjoy their venison.
“Hunters Feeding Illinois is a powerful example of how Illinois Extension brings communities together to meet real needs,” said County Extension Director Tara Buerster. “Through the generosity of hunters, partners, and donors, we turned a successful hunting season into nutritious meals for area families.”
For more information about the program, visit go.illinois.edu/HuntersFeedingIllinois or contact the Edwards County Extension Office at 618-445-2934.