Ky Hunters For The Hungry reaches out for assistance
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The impact of hunger is real, not only across Kentucky, but here at home in Adair County as well. Often we read of things we wish we could change but realize that the situation is beyond our control. You and I can play a major role in alleviating the issue of hunger in Adair County. According to Feed America and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture 743,000 residents of our state are food insecure, a modern term meaning hungry. It’s not often discussed but over 222,000 or 17 percent of our children go to bed hungry each night. Elder residents on fixed incomes are being forced to choose between needed prescription medicines and adequate nutrition.
You and I can make a difference locally thanks to a partnership consisting of a volunteer organization Ky Hunter’s For The Hungry (KHFTH), local hunters and participating processors. Multiple statewide organizations, businesses and individuals donate funding so hunters can donate from their harvest at no cost to the hunter to supply food for the hungry here at home.
Locally businesses like Rogers Trucking, The Franklin Family of Dealerships, Assisted Transportation Systems and local Churches provide funding to make processed venison into nutritious meat sticks. The meat sticks are then distributed to children through the School Backpack Program by The Family Resource Youth Service Center. The program operated by our local school system is rapidly being copied statewide.
Hunters and their willingness to donate plays a crucial role in making the effort to curb hunger successful.
The deer herd in Kentucky is estimated to exceed one million deer. The impact of the growing numbers of deer across our landscape is reflected in increasing numbers of deer and automobile crashes and the growing losses inflicted on farmers crops. Management of the herd through legal harvest is imperative and the utilization of this lean protein nutritious food source is greatly needed.
During the 2024/2025 hunting season Adair Countians donated locally 5,500 pounds of venison to supply our local Food Banks and the School Meat Stick Program with 22,000 four ounce servings of lean protein rich nutrition. The Adair County School System received 15,000 packages or 30,000 meat sticks for our local children.
The need is real here at home and we once again call on hunters to increase donations to meet this growing need. As an incentive to encourage donations Downey’s Gun and Pawn and Hometown Butcher are donating 2 Savage hunting rifles. Each time a donation is made the hunter will receive a ticket for the drawings that will be held this January at the conclusion of hunting season.
Successful hunters should legally check in their deer, field dress the animal and deliver it to the processor along with the confirmation number.
