Hunters have long played an important leadership role in Florida’s conservation story. For more than a century, hunters have been at the forefront of supporting conservation efforts benefitting wildlife and their habitats while helping connect people to the outdoors. Thanks to funding from our Foundation’s Wildlife Foundation of Florida specialty license plate, Florida Hunters for the Hungry is expanding its efforts to ensure that legally harvested wild game provides an additional benefit by helping feed families in need across the state.
This $20,000 grant supports the Florida Hunters for the Hungry Game Management and Florida Food Resource Initiative, a program that coordinates the donation, processing, and distribution of wild game meat to food-insecure Floridians. The program works with hunters, processors, food banks, and conservation partners to turn a valuable natural resource into thousands of nutritious meals.
With support from this grant, Florida Hunters for the Hungry has added three new USDA-inspected processors in Milton, Madison, and Groveland, expanding its ability to accept donated game from more regions of the state. During the project period, our Foundation’s funding supported the processing of 3,655 pounds of venison, contributing to nearly 5,000 pounds processed by the organization in 2025.
That increase translates into a significant impact for Florida families. The 3,655 pounds of processed venison provided the equivalent of more than 14,000 servings of organically grown protein for food assistance programs throughout the state.
The grant is also helping launch an innovative partnership between Florida Hunters for the Hungry and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. These organizations are collaborating on the Farmers and Conservation Wild Game Harvest Initiative, which seeks to utilize deer harvested under authorized depredation permits. These permits allow landowners to remove deer that are causing damage to agricultural operations. Rather than allowing that resource to go unused, the program aims to process and distribute the meat to families in need.
The initiative offers multiple benefits. It provides a valuable source of protein to food banks, supports Florida agriculture, and demonstrates the important role hunters play in conservation and community service. The partnership will also support deer health monitoring efforts, including collaboration on chronic wasting disease surveillance and sampling.
By connecting wildlife management with food assistance, Florida Hunters for the Hungry is showing how conservation can benefit both people and wildlife. Thanks to funding from the Wildlife Foundation of Florida specialty license plate, more families will have access to healthy protein while ensuring that Florida’s hunting heritage continues to serve communities across the state.
You can support projects like this by purchasing your own speciality license plate.
