Normally the end of the year is one of the busiest times of the year at Good Samaritan Ministries, but the first of the year through April is just as busy as they prepare for some of their biggest annual fundraising efforts.

March and April is Good Samaritan Ministries’ annual March Against Hunger Feinstein Challenge where everything GSM raises for food during those two months counts toward the $1 million Feinstein Challenge. Even food donations count as $1 per pound or per item.

Last year, combined monetary and food donations counted as $152,314 toward the challenge netting us $640 of the Feinstein money. Incredibly, with 62 organizations participating in the challenge nationwide, only seven groups raised more donations than they did in Brown County.

“That speaks so much of the incredibly generous nature of the Brown County community,” said Angelia Bostick, Executive Director of GSM. “Every year we are overwhelmed by the support we receive during this campaign and throughout the year.”

Bostick said it would be impossible for Good Samaritan Ministries to continue its work without physical and financial support from local churches, businesses and individuals.

In addition, the Empty Bowls Project will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 27 at the Brownwood Coliseum. Since the project raises funds for GSM hunger ministries, everything raised at the door counts toward the challenge as well.

The Empty Bowls Project is the largest fundraising event that GSM holds annually. For a donation only – suggested minimum $10 – diners choose a hand-painted ceramic bowl and enjoy a simple meal of soup, bread and water. At the end of the meal, the empty bowl serves as a reminder that there are those in the Brown County community and around the world who have empty bowls and empty stomachs.

“The whole premise of the Empty Bowls Project is to not only raise awareness but to raise much-needed funds for one of the most solvable social issues facing our neighbors – food insecurity,” said Bostick. “Add the fact that it brings the community together from schools and nursing homes, restaurants and local businesses, to other groups and individuals, and this project has become an event we hope the community looks forward to each year.”

Last year, the event raised $16,500. Ninety percent of that total stayed at GSM to help Brown County residents and ten percent was tithed to Food for the Hungry, an organization that provides hunger relief on an international level.

All of the funds raised for both the Empty Bowls Project and the March Against Hunger campaign goes to the hunger ministries at GSM: Food Pantry, Food for Thought, The Deer Project, The Pig Project and the Senior Food Program.

Food insecurity is no small matter in Brown County with the GSM food pantry averaging 1,126 families each month with more than 4,000 unduplicated families in Brown County.

For more information about the March Against Hunger Campaign, Empty Bowls Project or Good Samaritan Ministries, please call 643-2273 or 325-203-2489.