Serving our Communities and Valuing our Wildlife
Our Mission
It all started in the spring of 2020 when two Vermont state game wardens saw an opportunity to make a difference in their communities by providing nutritious wild game meat to those in need. During the first year of Venison for Vermonters, they processed over 3,000lbs (or 14,000 servings) of wild game!
Today, our goal is the same: address food insecurity and value Vermont’s wildlife by utilizing the meat from large game species killed by motor vehicles or illegal hunting activity that would otherwise go to waste.
Who We Serve
The majority of meat processed by the Venison for Vermonters program benefits neighbors who are food insecure. It is privilege to provide healthy, high quality protein, free of charge, to those who need it. We also donate meat for outreach events promoting a connection with wildlife and the outdoors and offer workshops on deer processing.
An average-sized Vermont deer will provide nutritious, delicious, local meat for 120 meals. As of 2025, approximately 11,000lbs (44,000 meals) of wild meat has been donated by the program!
Want to see more? Visit Game wardens process wild game and donate it to Vermonters in need through state-run program (Vermont Public, December 2, 2024) to learn more about Venison for Vermonters.
How You Can Help
We accept whole carcass donations from hunters and game confiscated by game wardens from violations of law.
Monetary donations are greatly appreciated. All dollars donated are used to cover the cost of meat processing. We also accept hunter donations of whole deer carcass from legally harvested animals.
Donations of $15 or more will receive a thank-you sticker.
If you are a wild game processor who would like to work with our program, a food shelf requesting wild game meat, or a hunter seeking to donate their legally harvested deer, contact Warden Serra at Abigail.Serra@vermont.gov or Warden Whipple at Jeffrey.Whipple@vermont.gov .