The Nova Scotia government is offering a one-time grant of $30,000 to help fund a program that donates locally-sourced meat to food banks, while also supporting Truro’s annual deer cull.
Officials say it’s all about ensuring people are fed and no part of an animal is wasted.
“This is leveraging the generosity of Nova Scotian hunters who would recognize that they have more than their personal need and wanting to help their neighbours,” said Opportunities and Social Development Minister Susan Corkum-Greek.
The Hunters Helping the Hungry program is an initiative between the hunting community and Feed Nova Scotia. The program has donated wild game to food banks for more than 20 years.
The partnership with Truro means meat from the annual cull will be processed through a licensed meat processor and distributed to food banks provincewide. The province’s grant will go towards the processing costs.
Hunters can register their wild game, then contact a participating registered processor and choose how much to donate.
The 2026 hunt is expected to provide about 1,200 kg of meat, which translates to roughly 12,000 meals on the table.
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“Hunting and sharing harvested foods have deep roots in communities across Nova Scotia, particularly in Indigenous and rural communities where these practices are closely connected to culture, tradition, and community well-being,” said Ash Avery, executive director of Feed Nova Scotia.
Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton says the department has been monitoring the deer cull in the Truro area over the past five years.
He says Hunters Helping the Hungry not only ensures the meat doesn’t go to waste, but also sees the animals’ hides going to Millbrook First Nation.
“I can tell you from my experience as a hunter, I would not always use the whole deer, if you will. It was shared with community,” said Rushton.
“It was shared with friends, family, and that’s sort of a pride of the hunter as well, to be able to share what they’ve worked on.”
Truro Mayor Cathy Hinton says she’s pleased to see her town playing a role in feeding the province.
“There’s children probably going to bed at night with empty bellies,” she said.
“To have protein to go to school with, to have a full stomach and to be able to sit at the table in the evening and have protein and food — that’s everything.”
The Town of Truro’s controlled urban deer hunt runs until mid-December. The cull was approved by town council in 2021 as a method of managing its urban deer population.
The town’s Deer Management Strategy says deer pose a risk to “natural ecosystems and biodiversity, citizen landscapes, public health and safety, and overall deer-human conflict.”
“Truro has an abundance of deer population. I always make a joke when new residents buy a home, you get two deer for free,” said Hinton.
“We do have an abundance of deer. And it has been problematic. Half of the town loves the deer and the other half find them a nuisance. And it’s a delicate balance between the two.”
According to the town, 88 deer were harvested in the 2025 hunt.
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