Share the Harvest and Make a Difference

January 11, 2016

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Days were spent in the cold, perched above the world in a tree stand. Tags are filled. Freezers are stocked full of meat for the upcoming year and the hunting season is winding down. However, if you are one of the lucky ones with a tag left to fill, you have the chance to make a difference through Share the Harvest.

Many families don’t have a dependable source of protein in their diets. This led a group of archers to start Share the Harvest in 1992 to share their deer with those less fortunate. Share the Harvest is an important program providing venison for those Missouri families in need.

The Salvation Army in Jefferson City has been participating in Share the Harvest since 1993. The organization receives meat from processors and reallocates the venison to share with families and individuals of the area.

“One of the biggest impacts of Share the Harvest is that it gives us a way to give out products we wouldn’t normally be able to afford,” said Lt. Christopher White, Corps Officer and pastor at the Salvation Army. “We have a lot of mothers, seniors and people with larger families. For them to buy meat would be so astronomically expensive, even though that’s what their families need.”

The Salvation Army receives food from the Food Bank. This includes bread, canned goods and so on. But real, protein rich meat is few and far between. Through Share the Harvest they are able to get healthy, lean venison to give to those in need.

The Salvation Army receives a good portion of their venison from a local processor, the Russellville Locker and Feed. They too are long-time participators in Share the Harvest. By being part of the program, the locker is able to provide processing for whole deer donated at a reduced amount because they are reimbursed by CFM.

The Salvation Army is just one organization of the many benefitting from Share the Harvest. All help provide Missourians in need with protein rich meat they couldn’t otherwise afford.

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