Food bank provides local wild game for local families

It’s hunting season in Montana. At the North Valley Food Bank, we are gearing up for another year of our wild game processing program. We reignited the program with updated processing protocols after a pandemic hiatus two years ago.

I vividly remember the Sunday before Thanksgiving last year. While volunteers packed holiday food boxes on one end of our building, the warehouse transformed into a wild game butcher shop. Twelve wild game volunteers processed two deer and one elk in an afternoon. Some of our experienced volunteers with their meat saw, a stack of butcher knives and a meat grinder, led the group.

They have been processing wild game for North Valley Food Bank since the early days of June Munski-Feenan. Back then, the food bank was still located on Lupfer Avenue.

In 2022, we processed a total of 23 animals, distributing a total of 970 pounds of game meat to customers in our choice model grocery store.

We continue to work on dismantling the program’s historic focus on roadkill.

North Valley Food Bank only accepts legally and ethically harvested deer, elk, wild bison, moose and antelope. We do not accept roadkill from the public.

Additionally, we do not accept bear, mountain lion, livestock, wild turkey, duck, fish, or feral pig.

When donating an animal, please gut it promptly and store it at a safe temperature. If the animal is gut-shot, please clean it properly before drop-off. Please call us ahead of time and, if possible, skin and quarter the animal before delivery.

The animals processed at the food bank are intended for public consumption. While testing for Chronic Wasting Disease is not required, it is strongly encouraged in areas where CWD is prevalent. When donating an animal to North Valley Food Bank, please bring a validated carcass tag and, if tested for CWD, the CWD testing ID number.

If you live in another area of Montana, check out the Hunters Against Hunger Program run by the Montana Food Bank Network and Fish, Wildlife and Park. This statewide program allows hunters to donate all or part of their legally harvested wild game to feed hungry Montanans. Food pantries in other Montana communities partner with meat processors, but we are the only food pantry that processes our own wild game. As a result, we benefit from both the processed meat and a $3.00 per pound reimbursement from the Hunters Against Hunger program.

Our director of operations, Lauren Jarrold aims to raise more awareness about the program in an ongoing effort to connect with more hunters. High-quality meat can be expensive. During these times when we see a skyrocketing demand for our services, the Wild Game Processing program is one of her community-based food acquisition strategies that helps our food budget.

We are excited to facilitate this program for another year. Happy hunting season!

Sophie Albert is director of North Valley Food Bank in Whitefish.