TPWD staff recommends continuing Feeding Texas as designated nonprofit for venison donations
Loading...
Summary
TPWD staff recommended designating Feeding Texas as the Help Feed Hungry Texans program nonprofit; staff said the program has passed through more than $1.5 million in donations and Feeding Texas has distributed over 773,000 pounds of venison.
Blaise Korzecz, deer-program leader, recommended the commission designate Feeding Texas as the nonprofit recipient for the Help Feed Hungry Texans program and asked that the item be placed on the Thursday agenda for public comment and action.
Korzecz summarized program mechanics: the Help Feed Hungry Texans program (established by Senate Bill 1978 and codified at Parks and Wildlife Code §42.011) allows hunters buying licenses to make voluntary contributions ($1, $5, $10 or $20) that TPWD holds in trust and forwards to the designated nonprofit. Since inception in 2015, TPWD has passed more than $1.5 million through the program; Feeding Texas has distributed over 773,000 pounds of venison and reports it has helped feed more than half a million Texans. The current contract with Feeding Texas expires Aug. 14, 2025.
Korzecz said staff received five public comments, all in support, and recommended the commission designate Feeding Texas (which operates the Hunters for the Hungry program and works with 20 food banks statewide and about 30 deer processors) as the nonprofit administrator for Help Feed Hungry Texans. Commissioners asked procedural questions about processor fees and pickup logistics; Korzecz said the food bank typically pays processors and that hunters do not pay a processing fee under the program. Staff requested the item be placed on the Thursday meeting agenda for potential adoption.
