It had been a team effort of the Deer to Care co-founders Stuart O’Neill, Tim Cook and Wesley Baratcart to help others.
‘‘We started off as a group of mates looking to hand over excess deer to charities in Southland.’’
A record 615 deer had been processed in the past year and charities as far as North Otago had reaped the benefits.
Mighty Meats Butchery owner Cory Orlowski frequently volunteered into the small hours, processing donated venison into 500g tubes of mince meat, Mr O’Neill said.
‘‘He does a really professional service — maintaining some very high levels of quality and foot safety that’s pivotal to how we operate as a charity.
‘‘He’s putting the community first when he does this work ... that’s exceptional, really.’’
Mr Orlowski said he had committed to the cause because of the help it gave to people who were going hungry.
With cost of living increases, he expected the need to increase.
In January, up to 700kg had already been processed.
The Mataura Butcher had now also joined the meat processing team.
Mr O’Neill said it had taken a substantial effort to figure out the logistics of how to connect with Southland charities that were directly connected to the greatest needs.
‘‘We have exceptional eyes and ears on the ground out in the community that tell us who these people are and what we need to do for them.
‘‘Deer to Care is entirely on relationships and understanding who it is out there that needs us.’’
While it had been operating for the past eight years, it had decided to scale up operations — starting with officially becoming an incorporated society.
The meat supply came via a team of about 12 Southland hunters.
‘‘If we had another 10 or 15 hunters shooting for us, we could probably take care of most of the need in Southland.
‘‘What we need is responsible hunters who understand food hygiene and are prepared to donate a leg or two of venison a year — [it] would go a long to build the resilience inside the social space of Southland.’’
Gore firefighter Michael O’Neill had volunteered as the fortnightly supply liaison between Deer to Care and community organisations for the past 18 months.
He had been surprised by the community work being provided by wider social agencies. Some services were distributing the meat as ready cooked meals.
‘‘What they do for other people in the community, that’s sort of been a bit of an eye-opener for me ... some families, they’re just so grateful to get that sort of stuff.’’
Toni McDonald
