After only a few weeks into the start of this school year’s Food for Thought Program of Good Samaritan Ministries (GSM), more than 100 students are already enrolled with more added each week.
The Food for Thought Program provides a weekend’s worth of food to chronically hungry students in Brown County schools.
“The program is in its sixth year and I don’t think we’ve ever seen numbers this high this fast,” said Angelia Bostick, Executive Director of GSM. “I think it’s a combination of more students who really need the extra nutrition and great site coordinators who know their students, know the program and are quick to get the students the help they need.”
At the end of last school year, there were 140 students enrolled in the program and with numbers already so elevated, this year will likely exceed that.
“It costs approximately $5 to provide one bag of nutritious food to one student over one weekend,” said Bostick. “Currently that’s more than $500 per week and that number will increase as the students added to the program rises.”
Providing nutritional weekend food to chronically hungry students is as easy as making a one-time donation or sign up for automated draft at Good Samaritan Ministries to support this program.One bag of food for one student for one month is $20, an entire semester of 18 weeks is $90.
“We love being able to take care of one of our most vulnerable populations, but we can’t do it alone,” said Bostick. “Without regular donations from our supporters, our hunger ministries such as Food for Thought would cease to exist.”
Bostick said food costs for this year have already increased by 12 percent adding to the costs of all of the hunger ministries of GSM. Add to that, it has become substantially more difficult to secure the amount of food needed to sustain the hunger ministries, including Food for Thought, from the Food Bank of West Central Texas making it necessary to find outside sources for food. All of that makes program costs increase.
“Our children are important to us,” Bostick said. “We know that an education is vital to breaking the cycle of poverty in the lives of our local students at risk of hunger.”
For more information about Food for Thought, Good Samaritan Ministries or questions regarding how to partner financially with this ministry, please call 643-2273.
