A plethora of venison

While Sheriff Kenny Christopher said he is beyond thankful for the superfluity of deer donations to the Sharing the Bounty program, he wanted to remind donators to follow drop-off instructions carefully to ensure everyone’s safety.
“Our Sharing the Bounty program is underway and we are receiving a great deal of deer,” he began. “We need as much as we can possibly get. However, we need to make sure those hunters dropping off their kills, stop by the lobby first before driving around back. We have had an issue and this is the best way to solve it.”
The sheriff said that check-in times are from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., every day of the week.
The Sharing the Bounty program was started in the 2017-2018 hunting season and was the brainchild of Christopher who was working off of the success of the Inmate Garden. He was looking for new ways to rehabilitate the inmates and provide for local residents, especially during these winter months. “Over the past few years, we have been working on expanding the inmate garden program to provide more food for the residents and last year we started a deer processing program called, Sharing the Bounty,” Christopher said. “It proved to be more successful than we could’ve ever imagined.
“It is easy to help us,” Christopher said. “Come to the Sheriff’s Department front office where you will be directed how to get to the processing building that is located on-site. We do ask that the deer be harvested that day with a confirmation number from the TWRA confirming your kill.”
He furthered, “All meat obtained from the deer will be processed by the inmates and will be given to the needy families in our county.”
Christopher finished by saying, “We will keep the community posted on giveaway days. In the meantime, if you are aware of anyone that could use some meat on their table, we ask you to call the department at (731) 584-4632. As for the hunters, in addition to knowing they helped feed families in Benton County, they will also be entered into a raffle drawing for each deer donated.”
More than 100 deer were processed through the program last year. Christopher hopes to more than double that amount this season.