Extra Does. Local Impact. MSAH on Mike Avery

A simple question from a Michigan hunter brought Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger back to Mike Avery’s Outdoor Magazine for the October 3 show:

“I hope to have some extra does this year that I would like to donate. What can you tell me?”

That question, submitted by listener Randy Smithton for Mike’s weekly Ask Avery segment, gets right to the heart of the opportunity hunters have this season.

An extra doe can do more than help manage the local deer herd. Through Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger, it can become ground venison for a nearby food pantry and meals for families in the same communities where that deer was harvested.

MSAH President Scott Baker joined Mike to talk about how hunters can donate—and how hunting clubs, churches, businesses and entire communities can turn that same idea into something even bigger through organized late-season doe poles.

Start Thinking About a Late-Season Doe Pole Now

One of the biggest opportunities discussed during the show was organizing a doe pole later in the deer season.

Think of the traditional Michigan buck pole, but with a different purpose.

Instead of gathering to celebrate antlers, hunters and community members come together around harvesting does, supporting responsible deer management and donating those deer to help feed local families.

Late-season opportunities can make an especially good fit. Hunters have another reason to get back into the woods, communities can organize around a shared goal, and donated deer can be directed into programs like Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger.

The event itself can be as simple or as involved as the community wants to make it.

Hunting clubs can organize one.

Churches can organize one.

Local businesses, civic groups, chambers of commerce and scouting organizations can get involved.

There isn’t one required formula. The goal is to bring people together around hunting, conservation and helping their neighbors.

Keep the Impact Local

Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger can also help communities work through the practical side of putting an event together.

That includes making sure a participating processor is lined up and prepared for the potential number of deer, helping organizers think through communications and working with the community to develop local financial support for processing.

That local connection matters.

A hunter harvests a deer.

A nearby processor turns it into packaged ground venison.

Local fundraising helps pay the processing cost.

And that venison can then help stock food pantries and hunger-relief organizations serving Michigan communities.

A successful doe pole isn’t just another hunting event. It can create a visible connection between hunters, local businesses, processors, volunteers and families who can use the venison.

Deer Management and Hunger Relief Can Work Together

Mike also raised another important part of the conversation: attitudes toward harvesting does.

For generations, some Michigan hunters were reluctant to take antlerless deer. Mike recalled a time when some hunters would obtain a doe tag simply to keep someone else from using it.

Today, deer-management needs vary across Michigan, but in places where additional antlerless harvest is appropriate, donated deer create an opportunity to put that harvest to good use.

As Mike discussed during the show, if hunters are serious about deer management, harvesting does can be part of the solution—and donating that venison creates the added benefit of helping people who need it.

That combination is what makes community doe events so compelling.

They can extend the hunting season, introduce more people to hunting, support local deer-management objectives and turn the harvest into nutritious food for Michigan families.

More Opportunities Ahead

Mike and Scott also briefly discussed potential future funding opportunities for venison-donation programs.

That includes Michigan Senate Bill 276 and Executive Order 14429, both of which could affect how programs like Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger are supported in the future.

Those conversations are still developing, and there will be more to share as the details become clearer.

For now, our focus remains on the opportunity directly in front of us this hunting season: connecting hunters, local processors and local food pantries to put donated deer to work in Michigan communities.

What Can You Do This Season?

If you expect to have more venison than your family needs, consider donating a whole deer through Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger.

If you belong to a hunting club, church, conservation organization or civic group, consider going one step further:

Organize a late-season doe pole in your community.

Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger can help you think through the event, connect with a participating processor, plan for donated deer and build the local support needed to make it successful.

And if hunting isn’t your thing, you can still help. Financial donations are what allow participating processors to turn donated deer into packaged ground venison that can be distributed to food pantries at no cost.

Listen to the October 3 Ask Avery Segment

Listen to the October 3, 2026 edition of Mike Avery’s Outdoor Magazine and hear our conversation during the Ask Avery segment.

Our segment begins at approximately 1 hour and 12 minutes into the show.

We appreciate Mike Avery continuing to give Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger an opportunity to talk directly with Michigan’s outdoor community—and we especially appreciate Randy for asking the question that started this conversation.

If you’re looking at an extra doe this fall, consider donating it.

And if you’re looking for a way to bring hunters and your community together later this season, maybe it’s time to start planning a doe pole of your own.

Extra does. Local processors. Local food pantries. Local impact.