Hunters hoping to bag a deer this fall can enjoy the traditional Wisconsin pastime while helping needy families throughout the state.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Wisconsin Venison Donation Program.

Laurie Fike has helped manage the program since it was founded in 2000.

In the past decade, hunters have donated nearly 70,000 deer, providing disadvantaged families with 3.1 million pounds of ground venison, Fike said.

The program is volunteer-driven and is a collaboration between the Department of Natural Resources, counties, local food pantries, meat processors and hunters, she said.

To participate in the program, hunters purchase a license and tags and kill, field dress and register their deer as they normally would, Fike said. Then they can drop the deer off at a participating processor. Fike advises hunters to call ahead to ensure processors have space.

Processing is free as long as the whole carcass is donated. The head or antlers may be removed for mounting.

Only deer taken outside the chronic wasting disease management zone may be donated to the program. Deer must be dropped off at a participating processor by Jan. 4.

About 135 processors are participating in the donation program this year, Fike said. A list of participating processors is available by county on the DNR Web site.

"It's been a really successful program, and it's one that other states look to as a model," Fike said.

Although Wisconsin wasn't the first state to have a deer donation program, the Venison Donation Program has become one of the largest such programs nationwide, Fike said.

"There are a few counties where we could use processors, otherwise we've gained pretty good coverage across the state," she said.

Stacey Lautsbaugh, owner of Crescent Meats and Catering in Cadott, has accepted deer for the donation program for several years. On average, Crescent processes about 20 donated deer annually, Lautsbaugh said, adding that she and her family got involved with the program to help poverty-stricken families.

"We process the deer as usual and send in the paperwork," she said. "All of the food banks that come pick up the meat are really good to work with."

According to the DNR, additional Wisconsin venison donation networks include Hunt for the Hungry, which operates in the Green Bay area, and Target Hunger, which handles donations from the CWD management zone. The Wisconsin Venison Donation Program covers all remaining areas of the state. In 2008, 140 meat processors representing 65 counties participated in venison donation programs.

Fike said the Wisconsin Venison Donation Program has affected thousands of families in the past decade.

"Every year I get a number of letters from people who were recipients of the meat, telling how much it helped them out," she said.

A year ago she heard from a hunting party in Buffalo County whose family members had been unemployed the year before and were recipients in the donation program.

"Last year they got the grandparents to watch all the kids so they could hunt specifically to make a donation," Fike said.

"It really comes full circle," she said.

Danielle Begalke can be reached at 800-236-4004, ext. 3827 or danielle.begalke@ecpc.com.