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The last months of the year, but December especially, seem ripe with the spirit of giving, of helping those less fortunate. This, of course, is often times in spite of (or because of) the hardships the person faces them self. Around the country food pantries are struggling to keep the needed items in stock to help those in their communities who need it most. As donations tighten, the number of people requesting the service grows. The Good Samaritan in Waynesville is no exception to the current trend, but the staff remains quite upbeat knowing that what they need will somehow, be provided. “The community has just been coming out,” Vicki Hurlbutt, emergency services coordinator, said, sharing that just when their need seems the greatest, someone steps in with a donation. “It’s been over-the-top incredible.” A recent food drive demonstrates the response Hurlbutt talks about. The Pulaski County courthouse juvenile affairs and the Children’s Division of Social Services recently teamed up to see who could raise the most food. Social services won, with 405 individual goods, to the juvenile affairs office’s 343 individual goods. And though the loser received a pie to the face, the point of the contest wasn’t jest. It was to give something back to the community, to impact it in a positive way. The food drive, then, was successful in that endeavor. With a total 748 individual goods provided, the Good Samaritan will be able to help more people for a while longer. Plus, it came at a time when the food pantry was a great need. Hurlbutt noted that when the two agencies contacted her about the food drive, the pantry was nearly empty. Their timing, she said, could not have been better. While Hurlbutt and several other Good Samaritan employees and volunteers are grateful for the donation, Hurlbutt knows there’s still a pressing need for more donations of its kind. “I means I can feed people for another week,” she said. “However, we are still handing out holiday food baskets right now. “There are a lot of people struggling right now in huge ways.” One only has to look at the Good Samaritan’s food pantry numbers to see what Hurlbutt means. In April, the pantry fed 231 families, or 622 individual persons. Seven months later, in November, that number has practically doubled, to 491 families served or 1,444 individual persons. But more than the numbers increasing, it’s how they’re increasing. Hurlbutt noted that family dynamics are changing in the current economic situation, and as getting by becomes more difficult, some are pooling resources to make it through. “When last year it might have been a family of two or four, it’s a family of six (this year),” she said. “This has been building over the last number of years.” As for if she thinks there might be any relief in sight, Hurlbutt’s demeanor changes, slightly, as she answers. “I don’t think there’s any turning back at this point,” she said, the profoundness of her statement obvious. “We strictly depend on God and God has been motivating the people in Pulaski County in huge and incredible ways.”
The last months of the year, but December especially, seem ripe with the spirit of giving, of helping those less fortunate. This, of course, is often times in spite of (or because of) the hardships the person faces them self. Around the country food pantries are struggling to keep the needed items in stock to help those in their communities who need it most. As donations tighten, the number of people requesting the service grows. The Good Samaritan in Waynesville is no exception to the current trend, but the staff remains quite upbeat knowing that what they need will somehow, be provided. “The community has just been coming out,” Vicki Hurlbutt, emergency services coordinator, said, sharing that just when their need seems the greatest, someone steps in with a donation. “It’s been over-the-top incredible.” A recent food drive demonstrates the response Hurlbutt talks about. The Pulaski County courthouse juvenile affairs and the Children’s Division of Social Services recently teamed up to see who could raise the most food. Social services won, with 405 individual goods, to the juvenile affairs office’s 343 individual goods. And though the loser received a pie to the face, the point of the contest wasn’t jest. It was to give something back to the community, to impact it in a positive way. The food drive, then, was successful in that endeavor. With a total 748 individual goods provided, the Good Samaritan will be able to help more people for a while longer. Plus, it came at a time when the food pantry was a great need. Hurlbutt noted that when the two agencies contacted her about the food drive, the pantry was nearly empty. Their timing, she said, could not have been better. While Hurlbutt and several other Good Samaritan employees and volunteers are grateful for the donation, Hurlbutt knows there’s still a pressing need for more donations of its kind. “I means I can feed people for another week,” she said. “However, we are still handing out holiday food baskets right now. “There are a lot of people struggling right now in huge ways.” One only has to look at the Good Samaritan’s food pantry numbers to see what Hurlbutt means. In April, the pantry fed 231 families, or 622 individual persons. Seven months later, in November, that number has practically doubled, to 491 families served or 1,444 individual persons. But more than the numbers increasing, it’s how they’re increasing. Hurlbutt noted that family dynamics are changing in the current economic situation, and as getting by becomes more difficult, some are pooling resources to make it through. “When last year it might have been a family of two or four, it’s a family of six (this year),” she said. “This has been building over the last number of years.” As for if she thinks there might be any relief in sight, Hurlbutt’s demeanor changes, slightly, as she answers. “I don’t think there’s any turning back at this point,” she said, the profoundness of her statement obvious. “We strictly depend on God and God has been motivating the people in Pulaski County in huge and incredible ways.”
