By turning surplus game into ready-to-eat meals the Country Food Trust is tackling food poverty and protecting the countryside, writes Camilla Swift in this article for My Countryside.
As they reached their 10-year anniversary this July, the Country Food Trust had plenty to celebrate. Not just from the past decade, in which time they have managed to put hundreds of tonnes of game meat to good use by helping to alleviate food poverty and get game meat into food banks. But also in the past two years specifically, which has seen one of the charity’s biggest tasks to date come to fruition.
Set up in 2015 as a legacy for Michael Stone by his son, Andrew, the Country Food Trust’s aim has always been to get game meat into food banks. This ensured that through game meat, people struggling to make ends meet can have access to protein: the one thing that most food banks struggle to get their hands on – and the most expensive food group.
SJ Hunt, the charity’s Chief Executive, explains that while the charity started out supplying raw meat, it was found that many food banks didn’t have refrigeration units, so raw meat donations weren’t suitable:
“We then created meals such as venison bolognaise, pheasant casserole or partridge curry, which have a 12-month shelf life from manufacture, and can be kept in a store cupboard.”
The day before we speak, she had spent the day travelling around Hampshire, delivering to food banks in some of the most deprived areas of the county. “I was in areas where one wouldn’t actually think a food bank was needed, such as parts of the New Forest, but they were desperate for our food, because they don’t have any protein.”
The charity takes both ‘fur’ and ‘feather’ product; the feather is largely donated from shoots and estates around the country while the fur, up until last season (and we will get to that shortly), was also donated by certain estates.
“People will say to us, ‘we need to cull 100 Chinese Water Deer. Would you take them?’ And we always try to ensure that the food banks in that locality benefit. So the meat is staying local, we’re reducing food miles, and we’re helping to feed people in need in the local community. Everybody can benefit from highly nutritious protein, full of iron, and full of the micronutrients that other ready meats don’t have.”
In 2024, a call came that started the ball rolling on what has been the Country Food Trust’s biggest job to date. A conservationist from the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex rang up the charity, asking for their help. He was concerned that the numbers of deer in the forest were harming the longevity of the forest, but as the conversation developed, he was overjoyed to learn “that there were two things we can do: provide those in need with much needed protein and preserve the future of this woodland.”
SJ approached stalkers in Sussex and explained that they needed to cull 750 does. She offered stalkers a fixed price for the season and worked with a game dealer who collected the carcasses from set locations. And, from there, the Country Food Trust processed the animals, produced mince, and gave out the raw meat to food banks and community kitchens in Sussex. “The target was 750 does and 10 tonnes of mince, which is 100,000 meals roughly,” explains SJ. “What we achieved was 884 fallow does and 170,000 meals, which we distributed to 69 food banks around Sussex over the course of the season.”
The feedback was wonderful: from places such as Crawley homeless shelter, who like many other places were struggling to find any sources of protein to feed to those in need. They explained that they would have 30 or so women turn up at night with nowhere else to go, but thanks to the Country Food Trust, they’ve had a really lovely hot meal.
“The stalkers loved it because they knew they were helping their local community,” says SJ. “And that’s why we try and keep it local.”
The project was, overall, a huge success, and the donor has now confirmed a second year of funding. But this success has, in a way, opened a Pandora’s Box, as the problem of an excess of deer is one which is nationwide. It’s not just in the Ashdown Forest that deer numbers are harming vulnerable native woodland. High deer numbers are causing problems in many parts of the country and this is something the charity can help to fix.
The trust is therefore “pivoting very quickly”, as SJ explains. “I’m very lucky to have an exceptionally supportive board of trustees and our volunteers have gone above and beyond so that we can grow the charity to match the demand that we’re seeing.
“Like every other charity, we’re always looking for donations. That is why people and the conservationists that are coming forward to help finance those projects are so valuable, and I’m so terribly grateful that they’re there.
“Deer are beautiful animals,” says SJ. “They deserve the ultimate respect in that if you cull an animal, you need to eat it. What better way to do that than through helping local people that need assistance and to help alleviate food insecurity? And that’s exactly what we’re doing.”