D.C. Deer Kill Providing Extra Meat for Local Food Charities

Programs to feed the hungry in Washington, D.C., are receiving food donations from an unexpected source: a federal government cull of deer in the District’s Rock Creek Park, The New York Times writes.

In the first three months of the year the Agriculture Department killed 106 deer, which officials say are proliferating in such numbers as to threaten vegetation in the 2,000-acre park. The cull provided 3,300 pounds of venison, which was inspected, processed, and donated to D.C. Central Kitchen, a charity that cooks and distributes thousands of meals a day to homeless shelters and community centers.

“It would be really sad if the National Park Service had to kill all these deer and throw the meat away,” said Paul Day, a spokesman for D.C. Central Kitchen, which uses the venison in meatloaf, burgers, chili, and breakfast casseroles but does not volunteer the source of the meat to recipient groups. Food-charity workers interviewed by the Post were taken aback to learn the meals came from Rock Creek Park deer but said they would continue to accept and serve them.