Before images of mashed potatoes and green beans flying through the air of a school cafeteria overwhelm your senses, this is not an ordinary food fight. Food is a precious commodity and the volunteers and staff of GSM know better than to waste it.
That’s why they are waging war against hunger in Brown County during a two-month campaign to increase awareness of hunger, educate the community about available resources and raise funds to continue feeding friends and neighbors who have fallen on hard times.
“March and April is our March Against Hunger Campaign and this year we are having a Food Fight,” said Angelia Bostick, Executive Director of GSM. “As in years’ past, the two-month campaign will include our Empty Bowls Project, Feinstein Challenge and Easter Buffet with the emphasis on raising awareness of and funds for our hunger ministries: Food Pantry, Food for Thought and The Deer Project.”
As usual, GSM welcomes any school, group, club or organization to hold food drives, but encourages those interested to hold fund drives to make those dollars stretch farther.
“For $1, you can go to the grocery store and buy one canned food item, two if they are on sale,” said Bostick. “But when you donate $1 to Good Samaritan, we can take that dollar and purchase five pounds of food through the Food Bank in Abilene. During this campaign we really want to encourage people to not only have food collection boxes but donation jars, as well.”
All of the money donated to GSM stays in Brown County to help our friends and neighbors. The only exception is during the Empty Bowls Project where 10 percent of the proceeds made at the event is tithed to an organization battling hunger on an international level.
This year’s Empty Bowls Project will be held on Thursday, March 29 at the Brownwood Coliseum. The project is a simple one with a simple message: Know hunger today. No hunger tomorrow.
For a donation, diners choose a hand-painted ceramic bowl and have a simple meal of soup or beans, bread and water. At the end of the meal, the diner is encouraged to take his or her empty bowl as a reminder that there are those in our own back yard with empty bowls and empty stomachs. All of the soup for the event is donated from local restaurants.
As part of the Food Fight campaign, GSM will once again be participating in the Feinstein Challenge, an opportunity to join together with food pantries around the country to raise funds to fight hunger. Every year Alan Shawn Feinstein, an entrepreneur from Rhode Island, puts up $1 million of his own money as a challenge to food pantries across the country. The more money raised locally during March and April, the greater portion of the $1 million GSM is eligible to receive.
“Last year we raised just more than $129,000 and, of course, we’d love to exceed that this year,” Bostick said. “And with the needs continuing to increase, we need to increase that to continue to simply meet the needs of the people who walk through the front doors.”
In addition, during the two-month Food Fight, GSM will also host its annual Easter Buffet held on the HPU campus on Easter Sunday.
“It will be two months packed with events and promotions to raise not only funds, but awareness of hunger in Brown County,” Bostick said. “Because how can people have a passion to help if they are not even aware that hunger exists right in our own backyard.”
If you’d like to join the Food Fight and partner with GSM to wage war against hunger in Brown County through donations, advocacy, volunteerism or participation in any of our programs or events, please call 643-2273 or (325)203-2489, email office@goodsambwd.org or check out our website at goodsambwd.org to make a secure donation via PayPal. Donations may also be mailed to P.O. Box 1136, Brownwood, TX 76804.
