Delaware
Delaware hunters have donated over 300 tons of venison to program feeding hungry
Our Daily Bread director on how he uses Hunters Against Hunger venison
Brian Farragher is the executive director of Our Daily Bread in Middletown, one of the recipients of Delaware Hunters Against Hunger venison.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Hunters Against Hunger program has provided over 300 tons of deer meat to needy families and individuals since 1992. Now, in days of uncertainty related to government food assistance, it’s more important than ever.
Delaware hunters participating in the program take their deer to coolers located in each county, where DNREC organizes pickup, processing and distribution to nonprofits statewide.
Chad Lingenfelder of Georgetown is 39 and shot his first deer on a state youth hunt when he was 14, he said. He’s been deer hunting and contributing to the Hunters Against Hunger program with his dad, Christopher Lingenfelder, ever since.
The Lingenfelders are part of DNREC’s deer damage assistance program, which allows them to take more does than others annually in order to protect crops. They hunt more deer than they can eat, and donate to Hunters Against Hunger each season.
“Giving back to our community is important to us,” Chad Lingenfelder said.
Delaware hunters donated 26,372 pounds of deer meat from 809 deer in the 2024-2025 hunting season, according to DNREC spokesman Michael Globetti. Since 1992, over 655,000 pounds of deer meat from 18,349 deer have been donated through the program, equaling roughly 6.62 million meals, Globetti said.
Where the meat goes
The venison goes to 25 nonprofits throughout the state, such as the Elizabeth W. Murphey School, a residential foster care program in Dover. The school typically gets a few hundred pounds of venison from the program every year, and received a little over 300 pounds earlier this month, Executive Director Michael Kopp said.
“The older boys, they like to eat, so when we supplement a regular meal with the venison, it makes everything else go a lot farther,” Kopp said. “One of their favorites is venison jerky – they mix it up, dry it and make jerky sticks for a snack. Venison is a very lean meat, it’s better for them than processed meat.”
Our Daily Bread in Middletown is another recipient of Hunters Against Hunger venison. The nonprofit served about 48,000 meals last year, Executive Director Brian Farragher said, through hot lunches and dinners and a drive-up community pantry.
Our Daily Bread uses the ground venison in dishes like meatloaf and chili and gives it away through the pantry. It’s a popular item, according to Farragher.
“If I put it out this morning, it’s gone by lunch,” Farragher said.
How to donate venison
Only deer harvested in Delaware are accepted in the Hunters Against Hunger program. Out-of-state harvested and road-killed deer are not accepted.
Hunters donating deer must register the animal and include the registration number, hunter’s name and date of harvest on the tag attached to the deer. All deer must be field dressed before being placed in the cooler.
The coolers are self-serve, walk-in units. When you drop off a deer, call the phone number posted at the cooler to report your donation so it can be retrieved and processed.
Coolers are open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily (unless otherwise noted) at the following locations.
- White Clay Creek State Park, 195 Smith Mill, Newark. This is a temporary mobile location opening Nov. 14 for general firearms season.
- Augustine Wildlife Area, 303 N. Congress St., Port Penn.
- Little Creek Wildlife Area, 3016 Bayside Dr., Dover.
- D&J Custom Cutting, 89 Meyers Dr., Hartly. Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during deer season only.
- Norman G. Wilder Wildlife Area, 782 Kersey Road, Viola.
- Miller’s Butcher Shop, 577 Morgans Choice Road, Wyoming. Open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
- Milford Mosquito Control, 1161 Airport Road, Milford.
- Redden State Forest Headquarters, 18074 Redden Road, Georgetown.
- Trap Pond State Park, 33587 Baldcypress Ln., Laurel.
- Gumboro Community Center, 36849 Millsboro Hwy., Millsboro.
Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Facebook.
A federal appeals court will no longer hear a dispute between Delaware and the Department of Homeland Security over a subpoena for wage data from 15 businesses in the state.
The case is moot after Delaware officials turned over relevant employer records on May 28, Delaware Department of Justice attorneys told the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in an unopposed motion Thursday to dismiss the appeal.
The Third Circuit granted that motion the same day.
Delaware’s Department of Labor had opposed the DHS subpoena aimed at work-site enforcement investigations. State officials, including Gov. Matt Meyer (D) and …
What are journalists missing from the state of Delaware? What would you most like WHYY News to cover? Let us know.
The city of Wilmington said Thursday that homeless residents of Christina Park must be gone by sunset Monday. Then, officials said they will erect a perimeter fence to block anyone from entering the site.
Wilmington officials issued eviction notices last month to park inhabitants about a month after requiring them to use city tents. The first tents were flimsy and failed during their first night in use after an overnight downpour, prompting the city to purchase sturdier replacements for residents.
When asked at a news conference whether park residents have been informed about the sunset deadline for leaving, Daniel Walker, Mayor John Carney’s deputy chief of staff, said they told the park’s site manager, the Friendship House, a local nonprofit.
Local housing advocate Meryem Dede, who heads the nonprofit TideShift Justice, said communications from the city have been changing day to day.
“The biggest thing is there’s just mass confusion in the park on what’s happening,” Dede said.
Carney’s office is highlighting the number of homeless park residents it says it is working to place in temporary housing or treatment programs.
Walker said out of 85 park residents, it has placed, or is trying to place, about 52 people in some kind of temporary housing or treatment program. City and Friendship House staff say park residents have been connected to beds at the New Castle Hope Center, a New Castle motel, as well as other shelters and treatment programs. A few people have also found permanent housing or plan to stay with family or friends.
Walker said that leaves 31 residents, with 12 of those interested in supportive services. But that still leaves 19 people who he said don’t want to leave the park.
Carney said they are trying to convince them to leave by the deadline.
“What we have to offer is better than a tent in Christina Park, and so getting people to make that choice, to take that step, is a big deal,” he said.
Those who fail to leave the park could face arrest. But Carney and other city officials would not spell out how they will get people who don’t want to leave to depart without the use of force.
DELAWARE – Municipal leaders and technology partners gathered for the inaugural meeting of the Government Artificial Intelligence, Technology & Ethics (G.A.T.E.) Committee, a new statewide collaborative focused on the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in government operations.
The committee, initially led by the City of Milford Information Technology (IT) Department, is set to serve as a government AI roundtable, open to municipalities, counties, public agencies, emergency services organizations, and technology partners. Currently participating entities include:
- City of Milford
- City of Dover
- Sussex County
- Kent County
- New Castle County
- Town of Bethany Beach
- City of Rehoboth Beach
- Town of Bridgeville
- Town of Millsboro
- Town to Townsend
- Village of Arden
- Town of Greenwood
- Carlisle Fire Company
- Lewes Board of Public Works
- Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation
- SHI
- Market America
- Wagamon Technology
“AI is not here to replace our talented employees, it’s here to support them,” Milford City Manager Christopher Coleman said. “Humans must always have the final say in reports, decisions, and public-facing projects.”
At the inaugural meeting, Milford IT Director Bill Pettigrew led discussions on AI governance, policy development, security considerations, and practical use cases for local government. Presentations reportedly included demonstrations of Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, along with discussions on prompt engineering, AI policy development, and municipal implementation strategies.
The GATE Committee plans to meet again virtually on Jul. 14 at 8:30 a.m., and will feature additional demonstrations and discussions on AI implementation in government services.
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