Sixty-five donors raised $2,398 for the Union Mission in August Feed Your Neighbor fund drive.

For the Union Mission, that much food can be bought for the organization’s food giveaways, said its director, the Reverend LaCount Anderson.

Feed Your Neighbor was organized to feed off the energy generated on the Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day encouraged by former Governor Mike Huckabee to show support for the fast-food restaurant and its Christian values.

Feed Your Neighbor organizer Geoffrey Hardee, who created the event with his wife, Heather, said he was pleased with the event, but would have liked more participation. “The message is great, but, unfortunately, the truth is Christians pick and choose things they mobilize for and Chick-fil-A is one example. It was an opportunity for conservative Christians to rally behind a cause but what’s truly important is true religion, pure and undefiled is to look after widows and orphans in their distress.

“That was one of things that concerned me. When we started the campaign it was started with the hope to do more than show we’re against something, it was to show by actions and love. When you boycott and protest that’s fine, but it doesn’t show love and that’s the greatest commandment.”

Hardee termed the campaign as a bittersweet success. “It’s a success for the families that will benefit.”

He said, however, “The response should have been overwhelming. When I rode by the local Chick-fil-A it was packed to support Dan Cathy’s views on marriage, meanwhile there was probably a child at the trailer park that got flooded out that would have loved to have a Chick-fil-A sandwich.”

For Anderson, the money was appreciated. “We’re going to us that to purchase food for our food pantry.”

Anderson said the money can be stretched. “What we normally do is try to purchase from the food bank. If not we go to other sources. I’m totally grateful for the effort. It’s a blessing to us because our pantry is kind of low.”

One of the reasons the pantry is low is because the Union Mission refuses to take food from the government. Taking food from the government means the mission can’t talk about God. “That left us with limited resources. People need to eat every day.”

Anderson said one of the best ways to donate to the Union Mission is when you see two-for-one or three-for-one specials at the store. “Bring one over to the Union Mission. We prefer to have canned vegetables because that’s something that goes on everyone’s table.”