On January 25, members of the Kentucky Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, including Caucus Co-Chair Senator Robin Webb and Caucus member Representative Phillip Pratt, served as legislative co-chairs for the inaugural Serving Up Solutions fundraising dinner in Frankfort to benefit Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry and the Kentucky Association of Food Banks.
Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus member Governor Matt Bevin was a featured guest at the dinner, and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commissioner Gregory Johnson also participated in the event which brought together community leaders, government representatives, and members of the wildlife and agriculture community to combat food insecurity in Kentucky.
Kentucky Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Senator Robin Webb said, “I was honored to serve as legislative co-chair of the Serving Up Solutions Dinner. After working with the Kentucky Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus to pass legislation to allow the donation of game meat to not-for-profits in 2015, it was a pleasure to be part of the fundraiser to benefit Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry which feeds many citizens in the Commonwealth with venison harvested by Kentucky’s sportsmen and women.”
In 2015, Senator Webb and Caucus Member Senator C.B. Embry sponsored SB 55 to prohibit state and local governments from restricting the donation of game meat to or from not-for-profit organizations for the purpose of free meal distribution. Working alongside Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry to support the bill, SB 55 was signed into law on March 24, 2015.
Game meat donation programs, such as Hunters for the Hungry, allow hunters to donate harvested meat which is then processed and donated to food banks. These programs provide millions of meals across the country annually and help the hunting community build goodwill with the non-hunting public.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
