West Virginia governor declares November wild game meat donation month

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrissey has declared November
"Wild Game Meat Donation Month" in the Mountain State.

The proclamation recognizes hunting as a tradition in West Virginia and highlights its role in increasing food security through the "Hunters Helping the Hungry" program.

“Hunting in West Virginia is an important part of who we are as a people,” Morrissey said of the proclamation.

“Our hunters not only take great pride in putting food on their own tables, but also demonstrate remarkable generosity by donating their harvests to help other families in need."

The governor added that Wild Game Meat Donation Month is "a time to celebrate that tradition of giving and the difference it makes across our state.”

According to Feeding America, more than 277,000 West Virginians, including one in five children, struggle with food insecurity.

The governor noted that the state's hunting community and the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources play vital roles in addressing the need through Hunters Helping the Hungry, which has facilitated the processing of more than one million pounds of donated venison and provided more than 1.5 million meals to families in need since its launch in 1992.

Brett McMillion, director of the division, says West Virginia hunters have demonstrated that their traditions are founded on stewardship and care.

“Year after year, our hunting community represents the very best of West Virginia,” McMillion said.

“By contributing to wildlife conservation and sharing their harvests with families in need, West Virginia hunters demonstrate their importance as both stewards of our natural resources and as caring neighbors."

Hunters who wish to donate a deer to the Hunters Helping the Hungry program may take it to a participating meat processor, where it will be ground, packaged, and frozen.

The Mountaineer Food Bank in Gassaway and Facing Hunger Food Bank in Huntington collect donated venison and distribute it to more than 600 food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers, shelters, and other charitable organizations throughout the state.

To donate financially, find a list of processors, and learn more about the program at WVDNR.gov/hunters-helping-the-hungry.

For deer hunting season dates, bag limits, and other regulations, hunters should consult the W.Va. Hunting Regulations Summary, available to download at WVDNR.gov/hunting-regulations. To purchase a hunting license, visit WVHunt.com.

Read the full text of Gov. Morrissey's proclamation

Whereas hunting in West Virginia is enshrined in the state constitution, offering opportunities to connect with Nature while providing food security and nutrition to hunters, their families, and those less fortunate through community-based Hunters Helping the Hungry programs; and

Whereas Feeding America reports that 277,720 West Virginians-including one in five children, struggle with food insecurity, an issue exacerbated by rising food costs; and

Whereas the West Virginia Hunters Helping the Hungry program, launched in 1992 and sponsored by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Resources Section and supported by the West Virginia Deer Association, is hunters' common-sense answer to fighting hunger, tapping into hunting's role as an integral cultural component of
communities statewide; and

Whereas recent National Rifle Association Hunters' Leadership Forum research shows that while American hunters share 119 million pounds of harvested game meat with others outside their households each year, many meat processors involved in Hunters Helping the Hungry programs in recent years did not receive enough donated meat to fulfill their missions; and

Whereas the West Virginia DNR is funded largely by hunters through the "user pays, public benefits" system known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, resulting in
$8,815,296 in funding going back to the state in 2025 for its critical wildlife and habitat conservation programs; and

Whereas promoting the West Virginia tradition of sharing our wild game harvests takes on even greater significance as we strive to protect hunting's future and increase its cultural
acceptance while promoting it as a food source, a right, and a vital wildlife management tool; and

Whereas hunger is a problem we can help to solve together through programs such as Hunters Helping the Hungry, so that one day hunger no longer exists in our state; and

Whereas the NRA and its millions of members have declared November National Wild Game Meat Donation Month across America, encouraging all hunters to donate surplus wild game meat and financially support local HFH programs as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving and the season of giving.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Patrick Morrisey, Governor of the Great State of West Virginia, do hereby proclaim November 2025 as Wild Game Meat Donation Month.