Field to Fork

Field to Fork is our in-person, food-focused hunter recruitment program for adults from non-hunting backgrounds.

Recruited, Retained and Reactivated Hunters in Missouri

Jul 8, 2025 Cheyne Matzenbacher and Cole Gander

NDA staff have been recruiting, retaining, and reactivating new adult hunters through our Field to Fork program in Missouri since 2019. Over that time, we have expanded our R3 efforts in the state not only…

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How to Host Your Own Field to Fork Hunt

Jun 19, 2025 Elizabeth Kligge

Learning to hunt is a rite of passage that many take for granted. They grow up in hunting families with longstanding traditions and hunting camps. Their friends hunt. Their neighbors hunt. There’s hardly anyone they…

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100 New Deer Hunters in Pennsylvania Through Field to Fork

Jun 3, 2025 Autumn McEntee

There’s absolutely no question Pennsylvania is home to many deer hunters – which makes it a great state for the National Deer Association’s Field to Fork program. Experienced mentors and opportunities to introduce new hunters…

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Meet Deer Hunters of R3 Who Were Recruited, Retained and Reactivated

Jun 5, 2024 Cole Gander

It’s no secret that participation in hunting has been on the decline since the early 1980s. Because hunters carry wildlife conservation on their shoulders, efforts to grow hunter numbers – known as Recruit, Retain, and…

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How I Went From Vegetarian to Deer Hunter

May 29, 2024 Elizabeth Kligge

I wasn’t raised vegetarian. In fact, I loved meat so much as a child that my Dad nicknamed me “The Meat Eater.” Vegetarianism was something I adopted in high school, with complete disregard for the…

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NDA Expands Senior Field to Fork Program in Missouri

Jan 30, 2024 NDA Staff

The National Deer Association (NDA) once again teamed up with Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries this season to host some very special Field to Fork events for 16 senior residents at four Baptist Homes’ campuses…

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NDA Participates in Missouri Governor’s Mentored Deer Hunt

Oct 17, 2023 Cheyne Matzenbacher

On the first weekend of October in Missouri, NDA Deer Outreach Specialists Cheyne Matzenbacher and Cole Gander had the opportunity to cooperate with multiple organizations and partners to participate in the Governor’s Mentored Deer Hunt. …

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Start New Adult Hunters On Deer, Not Squirrels. Here are Three Reasons Why.

Jul 26, 2023 Hank Forester

“Would you like to try some squirrel?” I’d ask Swanny Evans as we manned our Field to Fork booth. We were waiting to share venison samples with passersby at the Athens, Georgia Farmer’s Market, where…

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“There’s a Skunk Eating Joshua’s Deer!”

Jul 19, 2023 Karli Gill

Hunting stories are an important part of every hunting tradition. As hunters, we learn from others’ past experiences. Laughing and sharing our best or most embarrassing moments with fellow hunters is a memorable part of…

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10 Practices of the Most Successful Deer Hunting Mentors

Apr 12, 2023 Hank Forester

I have been fortunate to sit with lots of new deer hunters who have taken their first deer, and I have overseen even more organized programs hosting new hunters on their first hunts. I’ve noticed…

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