Wild Fiordland venison is set to become part of the menu for those families most in need, following the establishment of the We Hunt Food Charitable Trust, a Fiordland Wapiti Foundation (FWF) initiative which will be launched in Invercargill on 12th March.

FWF General Manager, Roy Sloan, said the foundation's donation of 18 tonnes of prime venison to food banks around New Zealand during COVID had highlighted the need for donations of top-quality protein to struggling families.

Sloan said the current economic situation and rising unemployment was putting pressure on families and increasing the demand for food bank services.

"Even today we continue to supply food banks in Auckland with meat processed from deer we cull in Fiordland," Sloan said.

"The food banks tell us that the hardest food product to source is red meat. The We Hunt Food Trust has the solution," he added.

The new trust will allow hunters to donate the venison they harvest, ensuring their contributions benefit those in need.

Donated wild-harvested venison will go to Kiwi Harvest in Southland - a New Zealand charity that rescues quality food and redistributes it to agencies feeding those in need.

"The meat will all be processed professionally and is, of course, from healthy free-range animals," he noted.

In addition to providing food security, the meat donations also benefit conservation efforts by helping to protect native forests that wild deer graze on.

"At the moment, deer numbers are high, and hunters are under pressure to control populations to help protect the environment."

"While they are doing well by culling thousands of animals, they are concerned healthy free-range venison is going to waste," he said.

"We just wanted to join the dots, and it makes perfect sense to donate the excess venison to those who need it. It is a win-win situation – the Trust can provide needy families with meat by giving it to food banks while helping achieve our conservation goal of reducing deer pressure on native forests," Sloan added.

The We Hunt Food Charitable Trust will be launched at Hunting and Fishing’s Invercargill store on March 12, with a formal launch at 12:30 pm.