Many children and families do not know where their food comes from. Whether this be farm to fork or even wild game that is harvested, a disconnect in our society has occurred. But, by way of extension and alike programming, we can combat this. Kentucky State University, University of Kentucky, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and the local county library (Metcalfe)  brainstormed to put together an unbelievable program. This program started with a vison of not only being able to check books out of the library, but also fishing poles and tackle. Fishing and hunting alike can have a great overhead cost and be intimidating to start, but with the “want to”, the “know how” can easily be gained. We provided the “know how” by bringing in community partners to talk about different tactics used in fishing and how to operate the equipment in a seminar session.

After the families and community members received a basic overview, they were brought down to the county lake to build on the knowledge received. Several fish were caught and showed to everyone around the lake with pride gleaming. It did not take long though for the proud fishermen to begin to be tight lipped about how the fish were caught and how they managed to do it. Suddenly a daunting task seemed to not be as difficult as it appeared just a few short hours before.

At the closing of the session, fish were brought back into the meeting area at the county lake where tilapia and steamed rice had been prepared for a healthy lunch before we concluded the seminar. With the meal being ended, everyone was gathered around for one last thing, the fish cleaning demonstration. With several bass laid out in front of me, we began to go through the steps for how to safely filet the fish and clean the meat before preparing and eating it.

This impact was both long term by making memories that will last for a lifetime and teaching a skill that can be taught for generations to come. However, it was immediate as well with training directly followed with hands on action.