Hunters feeding hungry Cantabrians with tonnes of venison meat

RNZ News

13-06-2025

Steve Hill, co-founder of Hunters4Hope, with the group's latest monthly haul of more than 1,000 kilograms of donated venison meat for Cantabrians in need.
Photo:
SUPPLIED/HUNTERS4HOPE
Hunters around North Canterbury have their eyes on the target to help feed around 8000 Cantabrians in need each month with donated venison meat.
Around 1014kg of minced meat was donated by Hunters4Hope to social services provider Hope Community Trust in Rangiora for distribution last week.
The non-profit volunteer group collected surplus venison meat or carcasses to process into mince to donate to its longstanding charitable partner.
A Hope Community Trust spokesperson said it sent its regular parcels from Hunters4Hope off to more than a dozen food banks, marae and community meal providers in its network from Rolleston up to Kaikōura.
Hunting duo Steve Hill and Adam Kreisel created Hunters4Hope to organise the collection of surplus venison from fellow hunters scattered around North Canterbury, and commercial trophy hunting companies.
Steve Hill said the goal was to utilise surplus meat by helping people going hungry.
"The basic rule of thumb - that we understand to use - is for every kilogram of meat or venison mince that's donated, it'll feed eight people," he said.
"The average meal portion is 125 grams, so if you look at one kilogram, eight people, 1000 kilograms, 8000 people."
So far this year, the group had donated 5808kg of venison, equating to more than 46,000 meal portions.
Hill said in its first year, they donated 2100kg, just under 7000kg in their second year, and believed it was on target to send 12,000kg to the charity this year.
Hill said there was a trail of chest freezers for collection scattered around the region, which was always open for more.
"If local hunters have some surplus venison trim, even if it's only a bag or a kilo or two, they can drop off to one of their freezers," Hill said.
"What we find a lot of that is surplus shoulder meat and and brisket meat that people don't have a lot of use for and probably the lesser grade cuts."
He said commercial trophy hunting companies who hosted international hunters contributed labour and time to the cause too.
"A large proportion of the venison that we get comes out of the commercial hunting outfitters. So very generously, these outfitters have got their teams on-board to skin and and bone out the deer, and harvest as much of that venison from trophy stags as they can.
"And without those guys on board, we we couldn't do the volume that we are."
Hill said co-founder Adam Kreisel's father and his friends "from the pub" made up "Dad's army" whose volunteer hours allowed the high volumes that were being collected.
The Hope Community Trust spokesperson said local food banks and other providers worked together more these days to share resources, which had changed over the years.
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