Like any good businesswoman, Mary Peterson runs the numbers through her computer that will forecast the year's fourth quarter.
An upswing on a business graph is considered a positive indicator, but Peterson isn't smiling. The rising numbers on her graphs tell the discouraging story in Antrim and Charlevoix counties where over the years employers have downsized or moved out, leaving in the wake a net loss in jobs, residents struggling to make ends meet and Peterson feeling the pressure.
Peterson is the director of the Good Samaritan Food Pantry and Resale Shop in Ellsworth. The project that she began in 1990 has snowballed into a solid community entity -- but one that struggles to keep abreast of the burgeoning demand for its services in rough economic times.
Peterson said the need was there from the start.
"I had been to resale shops here and noticed people looking through the dumpsters trying to find clothes for their families," she said.
Peterson voiced the need to her friends and then decided to put her money where her mouth was and started the pantry in an old fire hall in downtown Ellsworth. Almost immediately, it outgrew that location and several increasingly larger ones as well.
"I never figured there would be this many families," Peterson said.
In 1999, Good Samaritan formed a corporation complete with bylaws and a board of directors and began operating as a registered 501(3) (c) nonprofit. From that point on, things took off. As word got out, the pantry became better known and its Main Street location made it easier for people to find.
The Christian organization that is overseen by an interdenominational board of laypersons from area churches provides food, clothing and in some cases, help with utility bills or home repairs to those who need them.
"There is no test for our services other than the real need that people have," said Bill Broadwick of Bellaire, a member of the board. "We're unabashedly Christian. We don't make any bones about it."
The pantry's data reflect a steady increase from the 77 families per month who visited in 2000 to some 488 families, or about 1,630 people, who used the food pantry in August.
"It's gotten worse in the last 10 years. With automotive jobs dwindling, it's caused a trickle-down effect," Broadwick said, explaining that when car parts manufacturer Dura closed plants in Mancelona and East Jordan a lot of people were put out of work. That, in turn, affected the whole area. "Poverty trickles down, just like wealth," Broadwick said.
Peterson said it's not just the unemployed who need help. A lot of residents are working, but at part-time or minimum wage jobs.
"If they can get food and clothing from us, then their money can go for other things," Peterson said.
Peterson credits her six-person board of directors with its years of business acumen between them and a dedicated staff of 40 volunteers for keeping Good Samaritan's books in the black, but just barely. The agency's operating budget that it lists at $202,000 for this year goes quickly. With the help of skillful grant writing, experienced fundraisers and contributors, the agency recently purchased a new truck in order to haul the 12,000 pounds of food Good Samaritan purchases for pennies a pound from the MANNA Food Bank in Harbor Springs twice a month. They purchase additional food and household items from local grocery stores.
"We're generous with food," Peterson said. "As far as utility bills -- we do what we can."
Even with her degree in social work, Peterson is sometimes caught off guard by people's stories.
"We receive eight to 10 calls daily from families that are at the end of their rope. They've used their savings, they're out of gas and can't use their stove and don't have hot water. They have an eviction notice and nowhere to go," Peterson said.
For some, Good Samaritan is their last hope.
"Usually the calls start with, 'I've tried everywhere and nobody has any funds,'" she said.
And their options are limited. Other than Good Samaritan, residents of Antrim and Charlevoix counties have only the Northwest Human Services Agency, the Department of Human Services and the Salvation Army to turn to for help.
"There was a time when we were the resource of last resort, now we're becoming their first resort," said Broadwick, adding that even if those state or county agencies have emergency funding, it doesn't go as far as it used to. "With the higher costs of heating fuel and gas, the money runs out faster."
Along with the pantry and resale shop, Good Samaritan operates the Moms and Tots Pregnancy Resource Center with a separate $50,000 annual budget, as well as free weekly lunches for senior citizens. This Thanksgiving, boxes of food will go to a projected 220 families and an even greater number of Christmas boxes will include toys, food, hats, gloves and mittens.
"I couldn't do this without my volunteers," Peterson said. "It's overwhelming."
And she credits the board, still with all the original members, for sticking with them.
Supported by such dedication, both Peterson and Broadwick admit that at this point, backing out of the picture wouldn't be an option.
"It's more than a job or a commitment," Broadwick said. "It's your heart."
Good Samaritan is sponsoring its seventh annual banquet for the Moms and Tots Pregnancy Resource Center at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Ellsworth Wesleyan Church Hall. The freewill offering for the dinner is the resource center's largest fundraiser.
For information call 588-2200. Contributions to Good Samaritan are tax deductible. Send to P.O. Box 206, Ellsworth, MI 49729 or call Mary Peterson, 588-2208.
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