Help Families In Need With Wisconsin’s Free Deer Donation Program

Few traditions are stitched into Wisconsin's identity quite like deer season. Each fall, the state sells close to 790,000 deer hunting licenses, and in the most recent nine-day gun hunt, hunters registered more than 182,000 deer across the state.

It is part sport, part heritage, and for a lot of families, a freezer's worth of venison to carry through winter.

For a quarter century, that harvest has quietly done double duty. Wisconsin's Deer Donation Program lets hunters give a legally harvested deer to neighbors facing food insecurity, and the numbers add up fast.

Since the program launched in 2000, hunters have donated over 100,000 deer, which have been processed into more than four million pounds of ground venison for food pantries statewide.

How The Program Works

The best part for hunters is the price: donating is completely free. The venison moves through a network of roughly 22 participating meat processors and lands at more than 200 food pantries across Wisconsin.

Deer must be harvested in-state, field-dressed, and registered, and hunters are asked to contact a processor before dropping one off.

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That processor network is where the newest development comes in. The Wisconsin DNR recently announced it is raising reimbursement rates to keep processors on board — now $125 per deer, up from $100, or $135 per deer when CWD testing is required, up from $110.

The payoff really shows up locally. In La Crosse, Joe's Country Market processed 153 donated deer in 2025 alone, resulting in more than 24,000 servings of venison for families in need.

Here Is How You Can Help

Whether you fill a tag this fall or simply want to pitch in, there are several easy ways to support the effort across Wisconsin:

• Donate a deer — it's free; just contact a participating processor before drop-off
• Chip in $1 or more at any DNR license sales location or through your Go Wild account to help cover processing costs
• Sign up online to become a participating processor or to receive venison donations for a pantry
• Contact DNR Deer Donation Program Manager Marcus Rufledt at Marcus.Rufledt@wisconsin.gov to host a collection event

If your charitable organization is interested in receiving venison donations, you're invited to complete this online form.

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It's a rare setup where a Wisconsin tradition and a genuine act of generosity are the very same thing. Fill the freezer, feed a neighbor, and one good season in the woods stretches a whole lot further than the hunt itself.