CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Ross County hunters will have three chances this fall to drop a harvested deer at the Ross County Fairgrounds for Ohio food banks.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife is running Field to Food Bank for a second year. Processors turn donated deer into ground venison for hunger-relief agencies. Hunters keep the satisfaction of a clean harvest and skip the cost of processing an extra animal they do not need in the freezer.
Dates and check-in times will be posted by the Division of Wildlife and the fairgrounds as season tables firm up. Hunters should bring the deer tagged and field-dressed to the standard the program requires.
Food banks in this part of Ohio see demand rise when heating bills and grocery prices climb together. A donated deer is one of the few local protein sources that does not depend on a supply truck from out of state.
The program does not change bag limits or season dates. It only adds a drop-off that turns a successful hunt into meals.
Update, Oct. 7: The Division of Wildlife has set the Ross County Fairgrounds drop-offs. Hunters can leave a field-dressed, game-checked deer at 344 Fairgrounds Rd., Chillicothe, from noon to 8 p.m. on Nov. 30, Dec. 1, Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, and again Dec. 19–20. The Oct. 10–11 collection is not in Ross County. Details: ohiodnr.gov/DonateVenison.
Follow-up
Ross County Fairgrounds deer drop-off dates are set
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Ross County hunters have six days to drop a harvested deer at the fairgrounds for Ohio food banks, not the three still listed as unscheduled in a Sept. 30 report.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife posted the Field to Food Bank hours after that story. Drop-off at the Ross County Fairgrounds, 344 Fairgrounds Rd., runs from noon to 8 p.m. on Nov. 30, Dec. 1, Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, then again Dec. 19 and 20.
There is no Chillicothe collection this weekend. The Oct. 10–11 sites are in Wyandot, Allen and Delaware counties.
A deer has to be tagged and game-checked before it reaches the gate. Hunters should bring the confirmation number. The Division of Wildlife covers the processing fee. Antlers can stay with the hunter if they are removed, or the deer is caped, before drop-off. A donated deer still counts toward the bag limit. The statewide limit is six deer, one of them antlered.
Staff haul the field-dressed deer to the Ohio Penal Industries plant at Pickaway Correctional Institution. Ground venison then goes to regional food banks through the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.
The program’s first year, 2025, brought in 182 deer, about 36,400 servings. The division says one deer can provide 168 to 200 servings, and that 1.8 million Ohioans need food assistance.
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