When hunters are sitting in a tree stand Saturday waiting for a deer to appear, and their tummies start rumbling from hunger, they might want to think about the heaps of turkey and dressing, fried chicken, peas, pecan pie and all of the other fixings waiting on them for lunch at Gateway Community Church in Lauderdale.
For more than two decades, Gateway has hosted an annual Hunter’s Lunch as a fundraiser spearheaded by the church’s women’s group, WINGS, or Women In God’s Service.
The lunch event is usually held on the first day of gun season, which will be this Saturday, and draws more than just hunters — their wives, children, grandchildren and residents from across the county come out to support the fundraiser, said Linda Clayton, one of the organizers of the event. She said they fed about 300 people at last year’s event.
“We have been holding our Hunter’s Lunch forever, at least 20-plus years,” Clayton said. “It’s a great fundraiser that has a wonderful turnout each year. You get to enjoy a great meal and help us raise money to support different organizations in the community at the same time.”
Proceeds from the Hunter’s Lunch helps WINGS support several charitable endeavors throughout the year from families who have suffered a loss from a fire to nonprofits such as Hope Village for Children to the volunteer fire departments to projects or youth programs at Gateway Church, she said.
This year’s Hunter’s Lunch will be held from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Gateway Community Church, located at 3750 Lauderdale Road. The cost per ticket is $10 and attendees can dine in or get their plate lunch to go.
Tickets can be purchased in advance from one of the women from the church, or anyone planning to attend can pay for their meal at the door the day of the lunch, Clayton said.
She said women in the WINGS group have already started preparing for the lunch, including making lots of cornbread to use in the 35 gallons of dressing that will be made.
“We have been working on preparing the food and getting supplies ready,” she said.
Other dishes on the menu will include turkey, ham, fried chicken, butter beans, peas, snap beans, turnip greens, corn, salads, deviled eggs, rutabagas and fried okra, Clayton said. They also will have lots of rolls, cornbread and delicious desserts, such as chocolate pie, pecan pie and pound cake, among others.
“Everything is homemade by the ladies in the church,” she said. “There are lots of great desserts.”
When the women’s group originally started holding the Hunter’s Lunch, there were not as many convenience stores for hunters to stop by to pick up lunch on the first day of gun season, Clayton said. So, they came up with the idea for the fundraiser targeting hunters.
“They can give the deer a break in the afternoon. They can come and eat lunch with us, then the hunters can go to the deer stand and take a nap,” she said, laughing. “And the wives can go shopping.”