Good Samaritan Ministries reports that on their very first day of Christmas box distribution, they served a record 190 families representing 557 individuals who picked up boxes. Sixty-seven of those families came in the first hour of distribution alone. The highest day last year was on the first Wednesday in December where 145 families were served.

Good Samaritan Ministries is still seeking volunteers in December, especially these first two weeks, to push buggies and help stock food in the warehouse. Please call 325-203-2489 to volunteer so GSM can get you scheduled.

Photos above and below are of buggies lining the food warehouse ready to be pushed into the pantry then to the waiting cars of the families in need. So many people come through in December that the buggies have to be pre-assembled (filled with food) so no one has to wait in long lines.

Other pictures show food stacked almost to the ceiling. As full as it looks now, by the end of December, it will appear rather bare.

Christmas boxes from Good Samaritan furnish a family a box filled with most of the ingredients needed to prepare a traditional Christmas dinner: a hen, eggs, butter, pumpkin, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, green beans, chicken broth, cornbread mix, stuffing mix and more.  The food for the boxes comes from a combination of food donations from local residents and businesses and the majority is ordered from the food bank and local grocery stores.

According to Angelia Bostick, Executive Director of Good Samaritan Ministries, 1,347 families received these boxes last December and GSM anticipates around 1,500 families to need assistance this year.