With the economic downturn, the Good Samaritan Center on Pecan St. helps around 150 families with its food pantry. The center, which is run completely by volunteers and funded by donations, also sells clothing and other items in the thrift store and provides financial aid for families in need.

A community yard sale will be held on Saturday, November 12, from 8am to 4pm at Security State Bank on Highway 281, across Blanco Ave. from Super S.

For information about the benefit, call Jo Nell Haas at 830-833-5695 or email jonellskids@yahoo.com, or contact Lisa Granberg at 830-385-6100.

Funds raised will go to the center and its mission to help the Blanco area.

Although the center receives food from the Austin Food Bank, they don’t get enough sometimes, President David Armstrong explained.

The center is currently looking for donations of canned vegetables and tomato sauce, as well as peanut butter, sugar, flour, pasta, rice, cereal, tuna, and baby formula. Money is also needed for meat purchases.

Monetary donations go a long way, said Armstrong in an August interview, as the center can use money to help purchase items from the food bank at a discount. They can only accept non-perishable, commercially packaged and canned food (sorry, no home canned items can be taken). The thrift store needs donations of gently used clothing.

For more information about the center, call Good Samaritan at 830-833-2575 or mail PO Box 298, Blanco, TX 78606.