Hunters For The Hungry

The Wyoming Wildlife Federation’s Hunters for the Hungry program was created in an effort to connect hunters and meat processors with charitable food organizations to provide high-quality nutrition to community members in need. This program builds on a foundation of conservation stewards and meat processors who are looking to give back to local communities by sharing the harvest and further cultivating meaningful connections across Wyoming.

We are happy to announce $23,607 were RAISED by the Blood Origins and Stone Glacier Hunters for the Hungry fundraiser in the spring of 2021.

We cannot thank everyone who helped make this possible, especially Robbie and Cody of the Blood Origins team, and Stone Glacier for the incredible matched $10k dollars for this WWF program.

This wouldn’t have been possible without everyone who created a team to raise money for Hunters For The Hungry and shared the message. We appreciate everyone who was involved so very much.

These dollars will go toward expanding the Hunters for the Hungry program in Wyoming. Here is how to get involved if you would like to donate your wild game meat to the cause.

How to Donate Meat:

All portions of donated game meat must be marked as “wild game”, “not for sale”, and be marked with a donated sticker or stamp.

Step 1: Prepare Animal For Processing

Field dress your harvest as you would normally and get the carcass cooled down as soon as possible to prevent any meat spoilage. Make sure you have all necessary license and tag information accompanying the animal at time of processing. Then, if your harvest is a potential carrier of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), be sure to pull a lymph node sample. That sample should be taken to a check station or a Game and Fish regional office to submit for testing.

Here is a great video to explain the process >>

Deer, elk and moose are all potential carriers of CWD and must be tested before being donated. Antelope, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, and bison DO NOT need to be tested.

Step 2: Bring to Hunters for the Hungry Processor

Hunters may donate portions of their harvest after the whole animal has been processed by specifying how many pounds of meat they would like to be contributed to Hunters for the Hungry. In this case, the donor pays for the processing for some meat of theirs to be brought home and at the time of pick up, hunters will be able to select portions of their processed animal to be donated to the Hunters for the Hungry program.

The other option is to donate a whole animal for processing. WWF asks all those who can afford to have their harvest processed by participating butchers to pay for their animal processing. Hunters may donate the whole animal without processing, and WWF will purchase the processing through funding for Hunter’s for the Hungry. The funds for animal processing are limited, so this option may not be available all season long.

Step 3: Partnering Food Banks, Pantries, and Food Services Distribute

After processing, all portions of donated game meat must be marked as “wild game”, “not for sale”, and “CWD-Free” if applicable. They are then marked with a donated sticker or stamp and put in Hunter’s for the Hungry specific freezers to be picked up by local partners.

Local partners then distribute the donated meat to those in need.

Current Hunters for the Hungry Processors:

Please Contact All Meat Processors Before Donating. Not all accept deer, elk, and moose.

Big Horn Meat Cutting
121 US Highway 16 East
Buffalo, WY 82834
(307) 684-5387

Henderson Meat Processing
39139 Business Loop 80
82937 Lyman, WY 82937
(307) 786-4577

Matt’s Custom Meats
1655 Berger Ln
Jackson, WY 83001
(307) 201-5207

Shane Lesher
17 Carbine Lane
Lander, WY 82520
(307) 330-4068

Sheridan Meat Market
1745 S Sheridan Ave
82801 Sheridan, WY 82801
(307) 672-6328

Wykota Wild Game Processing
37 West Powerline Road,
Pavillion, WY 82523
(307) 850-2903

Wyoming Wild Meats
108 W Willow St.,
Lyman, WY 82937
(307) 787-6328

Distributing Partners:

Buffalo Bread of Life, Buffalo, WY

Hole Food Rescue, Jackson, WY

Know of more food distributing partners or wild game processors who would like to be involved? Email program manager, Haley Fitzgerald at hfitzgerald@wyomingwildlife.org

Thank You to These Program Supporters