There’s a place in Talladega where families with bare cupboards can get a bag of groceries. Not always the same groceries, not always precisely what their taste dictates, but food for the table.

Much of the food that the Samaritan House Ministry distributes comes from direct contributions, such as a donation of canned goods this week from Comfort Care Hospice. The annual U.S. Postal Service food drive also helps stock the shelves. The rest is purchased with money the organization receives from churches and individual donors; the Samaritan House receives no federal, state or local tax support.

Recently, requests for food — and clothing — have increased while donations have dropped, Director Marlene Hannah told the Daily Home this week. Hannah is confident that the ministry, which has assisted needy Talladegans since 1988, will be able to continue to fill this need.

However, she noted that the rent on the block building the ministry occupies on Allison Mill Road could be put to better use buying food if the Samaritan House owned its own building. Toward that end, friends from Concord Baptist Church have established a building fund at First National Bank of Talladega in honor of the organization’s longtime president, Carlton Highfield, who died last November.

The Samaritan House needs contributions of food and clothing, donations of money for supplies and for the building fund, and volunteers to help with stocking and distribution. It also needs a commercial cooler. It offers many opportunities to help.

During the fall, in the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, many people think of making charitable donations to spread cheer during the holidays. This time of year, we are more likely to be thinking about our Fourth of July barbecue plans. But an empty belly is just as hungry now as it will be in November. And you’ll feel just as good about providing that meal.