The old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is countered by the advice that if you have something good, keep working on it until it’s better and then make it the best it can be.
In its 30-plus year history, Share the Harvest in Missouri has donated more than 6 million pounds of venison to feed families across the state, and it is now the focus of a new effort to perfect the system and expand its outreach.
Jake Hindman has worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation for more than 20 years. He has temporarily been reassigned from his Education District supervisor role to a two-year focus as the Share the Harvest expansion coordinator.
“We will be working to find ways to make donating more convenient for hunters, as well as ways to be more efficient with processors and distribution,” Hindman said. “We intend to positively maximize all areas of operation within the program.”
This weekend marks the opening of the November portion of firearms deer hunting season. Between Nov. 15 and 25, hunters may harvest up to 200,000 deer. That means a lot of opportunity to donate some or all of their venison to food pantries through approved processors.
John’s Butcher Shoppee in Festus is the lone location in Jefferson County. The family-owned business has been a participant since the program’s inception in 1992.
Share the Harvest is administered by the Conservation Federation of Missouri and the Conservation Department. It also has the support of sponsors who cover some or all of the cost of processing for hunters who donate their whole deer.
The program has not changed much in its three decades, Hindman said. His experience with Share the Harvest began before he was hired by the agency.
“I’ve been donating deer to STH since I was a teenager,” he said. “I’m humbled and grateful to be working on this program and excited about the ongoing impact on deer management and food security.”
The two-year expansion plan began Oct. 1, and it will roll out in phases, with potential changes by the end of the 24-month period, he said.
“During Phase 1, we will be analyzing the program as it currently operates to identify what is going well and areas for potential improvement,” Hindman said. “Phase 2 will investigate what is possible with the program as far as expansion, and during Phase 3, we will begin implementing action items identified during 1 and 2.”
In addition to reviewing Share the Harvest successes and opportunities in Missouri, the discovery investigations will look for ideas from outside of the state.
“We plan to review similar programs in other states to understand what has worked well for them or areas of improvement, too. I have talked with the administrators of Arkansas and Texas programs within the past week,” Hindman said.
Input from hunters in Missouri is also an important element of the first part of the two-year plan. They can contact Hindman at: Jake.Hindman@mdc.mo.gov.
“I would love to talk to them,” he said. “We also may have opportunities in the future for surveys for hunters to share their thoughts.”
Usually, deer harvested in chronic wasting disease zone counties like Jefferson must be tested for CWD before they can be donated to Share the Harvest, but there is no testing this year. In addition to John’s Butcher Shoppee as a location for samples to be collected in Jefferson County, drop-off freezers are located at the Conservation Club of Festus / Crystal City and Mid-American Vulcanizing on Highway Y in Hillsboro. Other voluntary testing sites in the county include Belmar Taxidermy in Arnold, Bilbrey Studio Taxidermy in Barnhart, Robertson Taxidermy in Dittmer, and D and D Quality Processing in Dittmer.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.