With the first of two shotgun deer seasons right around the corner, the Iowa Department of Resources wants to remind you about the HUSH program. HUSH stands for Help Us Stop Hunger, and allows Iowa deer hunters to donate their kill to those less fortunate, by taking them to one of 87 lockers across the state. The participating locker then processes the donated deer into two-pound packages of pure venison.

One of the most active lockers in the program is the Crawford Meat Plant in Wayland. Owner Danny Crawford says they received a few deer during previous deer seasons, but he expects the rush to start with the opening of the first shotgun deer season December 5th. Crawford Meat Plant in Wayland processed the ninth most deer during last year’s hunting season, processing 110 deer.

The first shotgun season runs from December 5th through the 9th, while the second shotgun season is set for December 12th through the 20th. More than 3,300 deer were donated during the 2014-2015 hunting season.