ALBION, Ill. – University of Illinois Extension serving Edwards, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, and Wayne counties is kicking off the return of the local Hunters Feeding Illinois program with the start of archery deer season on Oct. 1.
Hunters Feeding Illinois provides local food pantries with ground venison from hunters who've donated their legally harvested deer. Locally, the program is facilitated by Illinois Extension in partnership with Feeding Illinois to support food security in Illinois communities. In its inaugural year, the five-county unit’s program received 83 deer donations, yielding 2,698 pounds of venison for five food pantries within the Feeding Illinois food bank network in Lawrence, Richland, and Wabash counties.
The capacity to accept deer donations for the 2026-2027 program depends on financial contributions to cover deer processing costs. Since every donation is matched by Feeding Illinois, a $50 donation will process one deer. Donations are now being accepted via check at local Extension offices or online at donorbox.org/hunters-feeding-illinois. Donors are encouraged to include Edwards, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, or Wayne County on the memo line of a check, or in the comment box online, to ensure funds are applied to the local program.
Deer hunters interested in donating a deer are asked to field-dress their whole, legally harvested deer, then contact one of the program’s participating processors to confirm donations are still being accepted. This season, Charlie’s Deer Processing and Smokehouse in Bridgeport (618-945-3100) and Legacy Meats in Sumner (618-936-4072) have partnered with Illinois Extension to process deer donations locally.
To learn more about Hunters Feeding Illinois, visit go.illinois.edu/HuntersFeedingIllinois. For questions about the local program, contact the Edwards County Extension Office at 618-445-2934.