City Mission Whanganui needs help with ‘fan favourite’ venison processing programme

City Mission Whanganui worker Sheldon Curtis with the portable chiller for the organisation’s venison processing programme. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown

City Mission Whanganui is trying to turn what some people think is a problem into a protein-packed meal for those in need.

Its venison processing programme, which began in November 2023, aims to address the lack of nutritious protein for the food rescue organisation’s food parcels.

City Mission Whanganui manager Dr Antony Nobbs said obtaining enough protein was one of the most difficult things the organisation faced.

“We don’t have enough; getting the protein is always the problem,” Nobbs said.

“Food and nutritional poverty are a reality in Whanganui. The provision of healthy and nutritious protein is crucial to addressing the issue.”

The programme enables the processing and distribution of venison to families in need.

City Mission has both mobile and fixed chillers, and does all the processing itself.

It accepts fresh donated field-dressed deer carcasses and can pick up the animals if required.

There are a number of experienced hunters in the programme who can harvest deer where permission from landowners is granted.

Initially, the processing took place in the organisation’s kitchen and 64 vacuum-packed parcels of venison mince were produced.

By last August, more than 3220 parcels of mince had been distributed to families in need.

However, the organisation has not received a carcass since November last year.

The increased presence of roaming wild deer in Aramoho that are venturing down from the forest has some residents concerned.

Nobbs, a keen hunter himself, wanted more landowners to be aware of the venison processing programme so a problem could be turned into a social good.

“We’ve got the facilities to process it, we’ve got chillers, but we need access,” he said.

“Permission is the big one. It’s a little bit surprising that, given how many problem animals we have, you can’t get access to them.

“If farmers are having a problem, let us come and we’ll sort it.”

Nobbs said the programme could process 20 carcasses a week “quite easily”.

At a Whanganui District Council meeting in December, Nobbs revealed food demand was up 100% from 2024.

He said this year looked like it would be no less.

City Mission worker Sheldon Curtis said the venison packages were a fan favourite among people in need.

Horizons Regional Council’s biodiversity and biosecurity manager Craig Davey said the programme was a “big tick” in legitimacy.

“The whole system is lined up; the missing pieces are the properties or supply of enough carcasses.

“They have not run into any problems around food safety because, from the distribution to the packaging, they’ve got it stitched up.”

Several New Zealand Deerstalkers Association hunters are involved with the programme.

Whanganui branch president Ian Churchouse said they supported the programme.

“It’s great. There’s a lot of culling that goes around in Whanganui because of the high deer numbers. If the programme can be used, then why not? Why wouldn’t it be a good thing?”

For more information about the programme, contact missioner@citymissionwhanganui.org.nz.

Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.