JORDAN BROOKS

jordan.brooks@middlesboronews.com

If you’re interested in hunting, before dropping a bunch of money on guides, it’s worth checking out the Pineville-Bell County Public Library for hunting tips and new recipes.

Cook Wild is going to be a series throughout the year. As the series progresses different speakers from different agencies will be speaking. The January event will be hosting two speakers from Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources speaking on Hunting Regulations and on cost share opportunities available for land owners. Bell County Snap Ed Assistant Christy Blevins will be demoing a venison recipe and will be discussing the health benefits of cooking with venison. The Bell County Ag Agent Aaron Redmond will be demonstrating the different ways to process a venison shoulder for cooking.

According to Bell County Extension Agent Aaron Redmond, the number of outdoorsmen is slowly declining, and he wants those numbers to grow.

“One of the main reasons for this decline is people do not know how to prepare and cook their harvest,” said Redmond. “Another reason it’s important is with the COVID-19 pandemic we learned how easy shortages can occur.”

The purpose of Cook Wild is to teach hunters to prepare their own harvest.

“Every quarter we will be reviewing recipes by the hunting season,” said Redmond. “We will be discussing recipes from larger game such as deer and Turkey, to smaller game like squirrels and rabbits. We also have some fish recipes planned for the summer classes.”

These recipes are designed to be simple and step by step direction will be provided for any level of experience.

“I feel like some of the key drivers to food insecurity in Bell County is unemployment, poverty, and income shocks, which prevent access to adequate food,” explained Redmond. “These factors make up many healthy food decisions.”

In Bell county, a large percentage of families depend on SNAP benefits to help purchase food for their families.

“There are various programs here in the county that help fill these gaps like Food Banks and our County Extension Snap Ed Program that focus on healthy eating and budgeting to eat healthy with what you have,” said Redmond. “Hopefully this program will be another tool to help people make healthy choices.”

People that are interested in learning how to harvest and prepare wild game, all while making lifestyle changes and eating a healthier diet would benefit from attending this event.

Because of limited seating, registration is required. To reserve your seat, call the Bell County Extension Office at 606-337-2376. The very last day to register is Jan. 13.