Your church attendance could be the answer to a prayer for local charitable groups.

Bradley Wood, who owns the Quiznos restaurant in Portage, is setting aside a percentage of his sales for charity whenever his Sunday customers present their church bulletins with their orders.

He already has directed nearly $1,200 to the Portage Resale Shop from sales during the final quarter of 2007, and he is starting to put aside cash for First Contact Christian Resource and Referral Ministry, a coalition of churches that help needy Porter County families.

Gabriel's Horn, a homeless shelter in South Haven, and the Portage Township Food Pantry housed in the Portage Adult Education Center are slated to benefit in the second and third quarters of 2008, respectively.

You're probably planning to eat today anyway. This is a good way to spread the love a little as you fill your tummy.

Sure, Wood benefits if local church-goers beat a path to his restaurant's door after leaving their church pews. It's a standard business practice to try to increase foot traffic into your store. You could say this is a gimmick to get people in the door.

Other restaurants do the same thing when they offer school nights. You know the drill. If you tell the cashier you're with such-and-so school during the designated hours on the day set aside for your school, the restaurant donates a portion of the sale to the school.

Restaurant school nights can be effective fundraisers for schools and other groups looking to raise some cash without asking students or other members to sell candy, cheese and sausage or wrapping paper.

As the economy continues to worsen, charitable groups are feeling the pinch. A lot of groups, such as the Portage Township Food Pantry, saw the usual increase in donations during the recent holidays. Most folks have taken down their holiday decorations, though, and the volunteers at the food pantry are bracing for the slim offerings that will come their way through March.

A lousy economy is a double-edged sword. As more people feel the financial pinch of a poor economy, more people rely on charitable organizations such as the food pantry, resale shop, First Contact and Gabriel's Horn. Plus, fewer people have the extra resources to donate to those groups.

If you were planning to treat yourself to a restaurant meal today, why not consider putting your hunger to work to help those less fortunate?

Take your church bulletins between noon and 8 p.m. Sundays to the Quiznos restaurant at 3378 Willowcreek Road, and Wood will contribute 10 percent of the purchase to First Contact. In the fiscal quarter that begins in April, the proceeds will go to Gabriel's Horn. The food pantry benefits in the third quarter.

The opinions expressed solely are those of the writer. She can be reached at bmartin@nwitimes.com.