With food programs stretched thin, Georgia hunters take aim at rural hunger

A tire and a sign indicating a drop off location for a rural hunger program
Wise Brothers Processing in Savannah accepts donations of deer meat, then passes them on to a local soup kitchen and families in need. (Emily Jones/WABE)

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WABE and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

On the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia, a line of large chest coolers waits outside Wise Brothers Processing. Inside them, skinned deer lie packed in ice, ready to be cut into cubes, ground up, or made into sausage, depending on the customer’s order. Once ready, the meat is wrapped and placed in the freezer for the hunters to take back home.

This is all pretty standard for deer hunters, the way animals they shoot become meat to feed their families. But a lot of this meat isn’t going back to the hunters who brought it — it’s bound for a soup kitchen in the heart of Savannah.