Sportsmen Against Hunger Accepting Goose Meat

North Dakota’s Sportsmen Against Hunger program can now accept donations of Canada geese taken during the regular waterfowl hunting season.

Previously, the program could accept snow, blue and Rossís geese during the regular season, but Canada goose donations were only allowed during the early Canada goose season.

This new opportunity for hunters to donate goose meat is part of a two-year pilot program between the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In the past couple of years we have heard from many hunters who would like to donate geese taken during the regular season, said Game and Fish Director Terry Steinwand. We appreciate the Fish and Wildlife Service setting up this pilot program so we can see how well it works.

North Dakota Community Action Sportsmen Against Hunger program coordinator Sarah Hasbargen said the additional donations accepted during this pilot project will be a much-needed increase to food pantries across the state. We will accept as much as hunters are able to donate, Hasbargen said, while mentioning donated goose meat must be received no later than the day after the close of the season.

Provisions for donating goose meat during the regular season are basically the same as for the early Canada goose season. In addition, hunters can also donate meat from geese that were taken during the early season.

Hunters can bring their geese home and clean them prior to delivering meat to a processor, but breast meat brought from home without a wing or head attached to the meat, must be accompanied by written information that includes the hunter’s name, address, signature, hunting license number, date taken and species and number taken.

Hunters may also deliver geese directly from the field to a processor, but identification must remain attached to the bird until in possession of the processor. Since no goose carcasses or feathers are allowed inside processing plants, hunters must be able to ensure proper disposal and clean-up of carcasses.

The list of participating processors [ http://gf.nd.gov/gnf/hunting/docs/sah-processor-list.pdf ] is available on the Game and Fish Department website at gf.nd.gov, and at the NDCAP website, http://www.capnd.org [ http://www.capnd.org ].

Hunters interested in donating are encouraged to call the processor before dropping off geese, to have a clear understanding of how processors will accept goose breasts, and their hours of operation.

The North Dakota Community Action Sportsmen Against Hunger is a charitable program that raises money for processing of donated goose and deer meat, and coordinates distribution of donated meat to food pantries in North Dakota. It is administered by the North Dakota Community Action Partnership, a nonprofit agency that serves low-income families across the state.

For more information, visit the NDCAP website, or contact Sarah Hasbargen at 701-232-2452.