Tuesday, October 4 is National Night Out and Good Samaritan Ministries is once again joining together with local law enforcement to collect cans of tuna for their food pantry through the annual neighborhood block parties.

Food costs continue to rise and finding quality sources of protein has become increasingly difficult. So the staff, board members and volunteers of Good Samaritan Ministries are calling on the community with the help of local law enforcement to collect cans of tuna and bring them to your neighborhood National Night Out gatherings. Volunteers from GSM will collect the cans and deliver them to the GSM food pantry. The neighborhood that collects the most cans (or pouches) of tuna will receive a trophy to hold until the next year’s event when it will be bequeathed to the new winner.

“We are quite certain that bestowing the tuna trophy is a prestigious honor,” said Leesa Stephens, Executive Director of Good Samaritan Ministries. “It’s a fun way to generate a little friendly competition into the evening and, hopefully, encourage our neighbors to bring in more tuna for a great cause at a great event.”

Last year, Good Samaritan Ministries set a goal of 3,000 cans of tuna and more than 4,000 cans were donated. This year, their goal is 5,000 cans.

“We’ve had a lot of unexpected expenses the last couple of months with computer problems, a compressor on a freezer going out and a roll-up door needing to be replaced. This cuts into our operating budget.  Any time our community can help by collecting food, it helps us keep our costs down while insuring that we can still provide the important nutrition our clients need,” said Stephens. “Plus we are excited that our local law enforcement has allowed us to be a part of their National Night Out event again this year. It’s an honor to support our local law enforcement while providing for the friends and neighbors they serve.”

For more information about the tuna collection or Good Samaritan Ministries, please call 643-2273.