Archery hunters have donated some of the white-tailed deer they harvested this season to help feed the 2 million Pennsylvanians who are food insecure.

The state Department of Agriculture is encouraging all deer hunters, especially those with more than one tag, to consider donating deer to the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program, which set a record last year by distributing more than 160,000 pounds of venison to food banks and food pantries.

According to the department, 1.4 million Pennsylvanians, nearly 10.9 percent of the population, were considered food insecure in 2018 because they didn't always know where their next meal was coming from.

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that number increased by 41% to 2 million including 630,900 children. The number of food insecure children increased 57.6% since 2018.

“So far, I probably had 15 donated already,” said William “Bim” Slater of Bims Baloney, a deer processor in Petrolia.

He operates Bims Baloney during the annual deer season along with his regular butcher shop, Slater's Meat's and More, and is one of five deer processors in Butler County enrolled in the HSH program. The processors are listed on the HSH website sharedeer.org.

“I think it's a good idea. I like it,” Slater said. “I think it goes to a good cause. I think a lot of people really need it. I talk to people. They look forward to getting it. They like deer meat.”

Last year, he said he processed about 60 deer that hunters donated and produced 1,800 pounds of ground venison for the Petrolia Valley Food Cupboard and the Moniteau Area Food Pantry.

He said he enrolled in the program when he opened his shop in 1996 and he waives the $20 fee processors are allowed to charge hunters.

Some hunters take their deer to processors not in the program, pay the processing fee and then call him to donate the venison to HSH, said Tom Rossman, HSH state coordinator for the western region based in Butler County.

He said processors typically charge between $65 and $125 to process a deer.

“I tell them we'll take care of it, but some are generous,” Rossman said.

Churches help the cause by including information about HSH in their bulletins, he said. Many church members respond by donating money or deer to the program.

“We used to ask hunters to donate $15. We've got enough finances and donations from various organization that we don't do that anymore,” Rossman said.

Rossman said 9,322 pounds of venison were distributed to almost all of the 30 food banks and pantries in the county last year.

The goal when HSH started was to distribute 100,000 pounds of venison statewide, he said.

“We did that three years ago. We set a record every year,” Rossman said. “I'm sure we're going to break a record this year.”

In a virtual news conference Tuesday, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said hunters have donated 1.8 million pounds of deer meat to the hungry since the program began in 1991.

Last year, hunters donated 4,110 deer that was processed into 160,000 pounds of ground venison, enough for 882,000 meals, he said.

“It reminds me what a difference a single act of sharing can make,” Redding said.

He encouraged the state's 850,000 licensed hunters, especially those with more than one tag, to consider donating a deer.

“A well-stocked freezer is not universal,” Redding said. “More than 2 million Pennsylvanians are at risk for hunger and the simple act of sharing can help to fight that hunger. If you've got more than one tag, consider using your love for the sport to feed others.”

In 2019, the department renewed a five-year contract with HSH to provide funding to defray costs of processing the donated venison. Under the contract, the department pays up to $145,000 annually in processor costs.

Redding said deer processors can't afford to absorb the cost of processing deer for the HSH.

HSH Executive Director John Plowman said more than 100 deer processors across the state participate in the program.

Venison from HSH is vital to properly feeding food insecure people in the state, said Sheila Christopher, executive director of Hunter-Free Pennsylvania.

She said the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System and State Food Purchase Program buy food and provide it to food banks, but neither program provides protein-rich red meat.