Quarles praises Kentucky House for passingHunger Initiative legislation


House Bill 209 moves to Senate for consideration
FRANKFORT (Feb. 11, 2021) – Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles praised the Kentucky House of Representatives for passing legislation yesterday aimed at expanding eligibility for game meat donations.
House Bill 209, sponsored by Representative Jonathan Dixon, R-Henderson, would allow the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Agency, the Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Program, and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife to receive and donate game meat for the purpose of food distribution and cooking demonstrations for those in need.
“I am incredibly grateful to my friend Representative Dixon for fighting for this legislation, which solves a problem identified as a result of our Kentucky Hunger Initiative,” Commissioner Quarles said. “The additional protections provided by this bill will allow the good people of Extension to continue educating clients at food banks about how to prepare donated wild game. I also want to thank Representative Samara Heavrin who carried this bill last year before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the legislative session. I hope that we get just as much bipartisan support in the Senate as we did in the House.”
The bill came about after the University of Kentucky’s Nutrition Education Program identified concerns about lawsuits associated with distributing meals with donated wild game at educational cooking classes for food bank clients.
“Our laws already allow game meat donation to non-profits so they can redistribute meat to families in need,” Dixon said. “This bill simply allows the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Agency, the Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Program, and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife to take part in efforts to fight hunger. In addition, many of our extension agencies offer cooking classes and do tremendous work in educating needy families about ways they can make cost-effective healthy meals at home. It’s important we give these entities the support they need in that effort.”
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. For full details of the legislation, visit legislature.ky.gov or follow the link here.
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