How to give a deer away

A deer goes to Hunters Feeding Michigan whole, tagged, harvest-reported and field-dressed, after one phone call to a participating processor, and the hunter pays nothing. The DNR’s Hunters Feeding Michigan pages, read October 30, 2026, say there is “no cost to the deer donor,” statewide, at the 16 processors on the program’s list. Deer from certain counties are tested first, and a deer taken within 3 miles of Clark’s Marsh in Iosco County is not accepted.

The conditions and the county tests

The DNR’s 2026 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary, which covers the 2026 season, gives the four conditions in one sentence: all donated deer must be whole, tagged, harvest-reported and field-dressed. It adds that harvested meat must be processed by a licensed processor to be accepted by the program. The where-to-donate page repeats three of the four, adds that the deer must be legally harvested, and asks donors to call the processor before drop-off so it can confirm it will take the deer.

Report before you hand the deer over. Statewide, the summary requires the successful hunter to report the harvest before transferring possession, and a deer may be transported only with its validated kill tag attached or its eHarvest tag validated. The steps are in the tagging and harvest report guide in this issue. Ask about the head: the drive page says “whole (with head attached),” while the processor page says only “whole.”

The where-to-donate page says every deer harvested in an area of known chronic wasting disease (CWD) or bovine tuberculosis (TB) occurrence is tested before donation, and asks hunters donating from those counties to contact processors first. It does not say who arranges the test, so ask when you call. The lists below are the page’s own, as read October 30, 2026.

• CWD testing, 18 counties: Allegan, Clinton, Dickinson, Eaton, Genesee, Gladwin, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Midland, Ogemaw and Washtenaw.
• TB testing, 16 counties: Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Benzie, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Iosco, Mecosta, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Osceola, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle and Roscommon.

These lists say which deer must be tested before donation. Where the diseases have been found is a separate question, answered in the baiting and disease guide in this issue.

One area is closed to donation. The where-to-donate page says deer harvested within 3 miles of Clark’s Marsh in Oscoda Township, Iosco County, will not be accepted because a “Do Not Eat” deer advisory is still in effect, on evidence that deer there were more likely to carry PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in liver and muscle tissue.

Processors and drives

The where-to-donate page listed 16 participating processors, with street, city and phone but no county. The DNR’s disease sample sites page, read the same day, places two: M-32 Processing in Montmorency County and Community Cuts in Ogemaw County. That page, and MSAH’s list, give Community Cuts a second phone number, 989-709-6259; the table shows the where-to-donate page’s number, 989-387-2173.

The DNR’s deer donation drives page, which prints no year, lists the drives at which the program takes deer, and says all donated venison goes to Michigan food pantries.

• Friday, Nov. 20, to Sunday, Nov. 22, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day: Jay’s Sporting Goods in Clare and in Gaylord, and Frank’s Great Outdoors in Linwood.
• Saturday, Dec. 12, to Sunday, Dec. 13, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days: Monroe Rod and Gun Club/Emersen Archery, Monroe.
• Saturday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: RealTruck, Rochester Hills.

Other ways to give, and the last check

A hunter without a deer to give can pay toward processing. On the DNR’s support page, you add a donation when you buy a hunting or fishing license: at checkout on DNR eLicense or in the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app, or by telling the retailer in a store. Nonhunters can donate too. The program page puts each deer at an estimated 160 meals, and says hunters have donated 3.5 million servings of venison since 2005.

A similar name belongs to another organization. Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger, which calls itself MSAH, has its own site and its own processor list, and its how-to-donate page tells hunters to bring a field-dressed deer to a participating MSAH processor. Michigan House Resolution 215 of 2025 names both MSAH and the Hunters Feeding Michigan program as groups through which hunters donate. No DNR page read for this guide lists MSAH, so the lists are not merged here: the 16 processors above are the DNR program’s. When you call, say which program you mean.

Take these with you:

• The deer, whole and field-dressed, with its validated kill tag attached or your eHarvest tag validated.
• The harvest report confirmation number.
• The processor’s yes, and its answer on testing if the deer came from a county above.

The processor list and the drive dates are the parts most likely to change. Open the DNR’s where-to-donate and deer donation drives pages the day you plan to drive, and call before you go.