The number of families coming to the Good Samaritan Ministries food pantry is up. The number of clients needing help with rent, utilities and prescriptions is up. The amount of food that has to be purchased to provide for the increased need is up.
However, donations are down.
In most places of business, when the numbers are up, that means business is good. Unfortunately, at a non-profit charity like Good Samaritan Ministries, when numbers are up, that simply means more people are struggling.
And when donations are down on top of that, that means the money in the bank has to stretch even further, which sometimes means funding for existing programs gets cut or the programs themselves get cut.
“We’ve already had to cut our budget for financial assistance in half, eliminated two staff positions and have cut the hours of the remaining staff,” said Angelia Bostick, Executive Director of Good Samaritan Ministries. “And, quite honestly, if donations continue to be down, we may have to find more areas to cut.”
The next step will be to cut the amount of food and then, possibly, to turn families away.
“Right now, we do not have the money to order food in January so the food that is in the warehouse right now, is all that we have,” Bostick said. “That’s enough for maybe a couple of weeks.”Good Samaritan Ministries is an emergency food pantry that provides grocery staples to help supplement the needs of Brown County residents at risk of hunger. The food is not meant to last more than three to five days.
Bostick said that in the past the majority of the food was USDA commodities that could be purchased from the food bank for 18 cents a pound. Now, there is less food available from commodities so the Food Bank has to purchase from third party vendors which costs more for the food pantries.
Add to that the fact that already this month, more than 1,000 families have come to the pantry in two and a half weeks.
“There is no denying that there are people in need in Brown County,” said Bostick. “But where will they go if we are no longer able to help?”
She said she knows that’s a dire, worst-case scenario, but when an organization runs solely off of grants and donations, there are immediate repercussions when donations drop.
“I know some people might not think it’s a big deal,” Bostick said. “We hear quite frequently from people that all we are doing is allowing people to work the system, to be lazy and not work, that we are enabling them.”
But, Bostick said, the people who say those things don’t know that on average, most of the families that come to the food pantry only do so once every four or five months. The majority of those who do receive food stamps, receive less than $40 a month.
Every person has a story, a reason for walking through the front doors.
Like the man who once owned his own business but between having to physically take care of his wife and the never-ending medical bills and doctor visits, at 70-years-old he had to ask for help for the first time. Or the young man and his wife who recently lost his mother and took over the care of a half-brother. The young man and his wife both work but with being a new caretaker, his wife has had to cut her hours. They have young children at home. They are both very proud but have been humbled by their circumstances enough to ask for help.
Every person is unique and every story is different. But the need is very real.
If anyone would like to make a donation of any amount, please mail a check to P.O. Box 1136, Brownwood, TX 76804, stop by 305 Clark Street or make a secure payment online at goodsambwd.org.
Good Samaritan Ministries is a nonprofit and all donations are tax-exempt as allowed by law.
For more information, please call 325-643-2273.
