With Thanksgiving almost here and firearm deer season coming, now is a good time to keep those who are less fortunate in mind. In this season of giving, we all benefit when we all pitch in.

The deer population is high once again in Missouri, and there is ample opportunity for hunters to harvest game through a variety of methods, from black powder to bow and arrow. What you do after reporting your game is up to you.

This is why the annual “Share the Harvest” effort is so popular. It provides food banks with venison. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), 6,244 hunters donated 318,115 pounds of venison last year alone.

But, you do not have to be a hunter to contribute to pantries, shelters or food banks. The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri is a wonderful operation that does great things for residents of 32 Missouri counties. It is in need of donations throughout the year, but fall and winter seem to increase demand. It has a number of partners it calls upon for help this time of year, but individual donations are just as important.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture’s “10,000 Garden Challenge” also continues. This effort started back in the spring, asking groups and individuals alike to start their own gardens and donate any portion of their bounty to local food banks and pantries. It is this type of cooperative effort that helps get items — in this case, fresh produce — to less fortunate community members and is also a great way to spread the word about the good things that farmers do.

Earlier, I mentioned firearm deer season, which runs from Nov. 16-26. This is the main firearm season. The firearm season for antlerless deer runs from Nov. 27-Dec. 8; muzzleloader season is Dec. 21-31; the second firearm season for youth happens the weekend of Jan. 4-5, 2014; and the second archery season starts on Nov. 27 and ends on Jan. 15, 2014.

There are some new rules in place for 2013, all of which you can read about on MDC’s website. There are four main highlights to keep in mind:

• New managed deer hunts have been added and others have been removed or modified.
• Hunters no longer need to attach their voided permit to their harvested deer as long as they remain with their harvest.
• Deer hunting regulations have changed for several conservation areas.

Good luck in the woods this year.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office. Thank you.