Hunt for Good donates wild venison to Tauranga Community Foodbank

Tauranga Community Foodbank warehouse manager Jordy Gastmeier (left), Hunt for Good founder Jasper Osborne and volunteer Dyllan Turnball deliver venison mince.

A Tauranga man has figured out a way to use his love of hunting to provide high-quality, healthier red meat to those most in need in the community.

Business owner Jasper Osborne has rallied 15 volunteers to create Hunt for Good, a not-for-profit initiative that helps control deer populations that has already donated 400kg of wild venison to Tauranga Community Foodbank.

“They have a lot of people to feed,” Osborne said.

“I grew up hunting in the central North Island with my dad, cousins and uncles and now I teach my own kids to hunt.

“A lot of sheep and beef farms are overrun with thousands of deer that eat all the grass.”

Jasper noticed culling often resulted in meat left going to waste.

“Everyone we have approached has been supportive and sponsors appreciate the socially responsible and environmentally friendly association,” he said.

“There are people doing it tough and red meat is often missing from foodbank parcels, so we saw an opportunity to fill that gap while also helping manage the deer population.”

“The timing was perfect for us,” Tauranga Community Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin said.

“We’re trying to be more self-sustainable by using local produce.

“The need for food revolves around meat and veges that are so unaffordable and yet so abundant.”

Goodwin was impressed with how well organised the initiative was.

“The most astonishing thing to us is Hunt for Good is so well set up,” she said.

“They’re doing it all, from organising the volunteers to meat processing, and the response has been amazing.

“People familiar with venison can’t believe their luck.”

In the past 12 months, Tauranga Community Foodbank has assisted 25,000 people in 8500 households.

The Hunt for Food donations mean each family get a 500g pack of venison mince, along with the usual chicken and sausages to make healthy meals.

“Our food parcels need to stay within 80% of the recommended dietary guidelines,” Goodwin said.

“So, being a lean red meat, venison makes that easy for us to achieve.”