“I haven’t eaten anything all day, so my stomach is growling. And then I think to myself, yeah but I know I can walk into the kitchen and grab a meal bar or banana. I have access to food. What if I was a family of four, and all of us, our stomachs are growling, and you have to look at your kid and say ‘I’m sorry, we don’t have any food?’”
Food insecurity is a major issue in many people’s lives. Not knowing where your next meal is coming from creates an added struggle that no one should have to face.
“As a mom especially, I can’t imagine what that must feel like.”
This all comes from The Zachos Team’s own Dee Dee Zachos, who stepped up as the treasurer for the Good Samaritan Center three years ago. The Good Samaritan Center is a faith-based organization operating out of Douglas County which seeks to help those struggling with food insecurity and other basic needs.
“I was supposed to roll off this year, but I’ve decided I’m going to stay for three more years. I’m just feeling the need to really be involved in this right now.”
The source of this passion is unquestionable. In 2024, the Good Samaritan Center, which operates out of Douglas County, served an average of 125.4 households per day, and sometimes up to 132. This is notably more than 78.7 in 2022, a 59% increase in just two years.
The Good Samaritan Center also offers assistance with social services, as well as a mobile food pantry which delivers food to families around the West Georgia area. You may think that an organization with this many roles to fill has a large team behind it, but that is not so. When going over the statistics, Dee Dee admires how much they’ve accomplished.
“It’s impressive that right now we only have two paid employees, and they’re part time, and then we have a lot of volunteers… It’s phenomenal to think that two paid employees plus all these volunteers can serve 132 households per day.”
The Good Samaritan Center not only cares about visitors receiving what they need, but also how they get it. Workers set up the center as a grocery store, where visitors can take a shopping cart and pick the food they would like to get. This helps remove the stigma around visitors feeling like they are only receiving a handout by creating the experience of shopping for food themselves. In addition, volunteers are available to pray over visitors, helping them on their mental, emotional, and spiritual journey as well.
The Zachos Team is proud to devote our time and resources to this organization. Through monetary donations or volunteering, you can help with this great cause as well. In reflecting on how she began working with the organization, Dee Dee recalls what finally helped her make her decision.
“How can I say ‘I can’t make extra time for people who need food?’ How can I justify that?”
Written by Paul Zachos