It was before the crack of dawn with a chill in the air when organizers of the Hunter’s Breakfast stepped into Glenmore United Methodist Church to fix breakfast.

It wasn’t long before the scents of biscuits, hash browns, eggs, sausage and bacon fried on a griddle, fried apples and french toast fill the church’s kitchen and fellowship hall.

Kim Ragland, who comes from a family of hunters and who hunts herself, said this is the first year the congregation have held the weekly breakfasts.

“It would help the hunters and help the church,” Ragland said. “My grandma used to cook breakfast for the hunters every Saturday. Now she’s 80 and can’t do it anymore.”

This Saturday breakfast was particularly important as it was the last Saturday of deer hunting season for Buckingham and Prince Edward counties, according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Ragland said that donations for the breakfast are accepted, but that any hunter who needs a meal is welcome.

She joked that the event is a family affair, as several members of the Ragland family helped cook and participate in the breakfasts.

She estimates that since they started the weekly breakfasts in November, the church has raised more than $1,000 in donations from participants.

“The most we’ve had is 30 (people),” Ragland said about those attending the breakfasts.

“That’s a pretty good number considering we have 25-30 people at the church,” Joan Ragland, who also helped organize the event, said.

Mature and younger hunters soon filled the tables set out in the fellowship hall, enjoying a hearty breakfast and making conversation with friends, family members and fellow hunters.

Caitlyn Ragland, Kim’s daughter and a kinesiology student at University of Virginia, said she has enjoyed taking part in the weekly breakfast before hunts.

“I think it’s really nice,” Caitlyn said.

Gene Rush and Jack Ragland have hunted for decades. Ragland said he had hunted for 70 years, while Rush said he could not remember how long ago it had been. Both have enjoyed the recent breakfasts. For Rush, it was his first time attending the Hunter’s Breakfast.

“It’s real nice,” Rush said. “I will be back.”

“(It’s) wonderful,” Jack said.

For father and son Seth and Noah Jones, it’s been their second time attending the breakfasts.

Noah said one of his favorite aspects of the breakfasts was, “Talking to my grandpa,” Kenny Ragland.

“It’s really nice,” Seth said about the breakfasts, noting the camaraderie and hearty meal. “You get to see everybody in the community. It’s better than (using) the microwave.”

To view more photos of the event, click here.