Raising money to keep an area food bank going is becoming more of a project of community engagement than an attempt to stockpile funds for a nonprofit.

At least that’s the case with the Empty Bowl Luncheon for the Georgia Mountain Food Bank, said the food bank’s Executive Director Kay Blackstock.

“So many people are involved in it that it’s hard to measure (success) by dollars, because you engage so many people in it,” Blackstock said.

Blackstock, who has been with the food bank since its inception in 2008, has spent a lot of time over the last few years explaining to people the difference between what she does and what local food pantries do.

She thinks the food bank’s role in distributing food to the area’s needy becomes a little more clear to people after they visit the organization’s new 20,000-square-foot facility.

Last year, the food bank distributed more than 980,000 pounds of food to more than 40 partners in Hall, Dawson, Forsyth, Lumpkin and Union counties.

And the Empty Bowl Luncheon, the nonprofit’s annual fundraiser scheduled for Thursday, is another way Blackstock and others involved with Georgia Mountain Food Bank illustrate the need for such a food distribution hub in the area.

The luncheon is the main fundraiser for the Georgia Mountain Food Bank. Proceeds from the $25-per-person event help the nonprofit buy food for its five-county distribution area.

One person’s admission, Blackstock said, pays for 100 meals.

“The work that we’re doing has that great multiplier effect to it,” Blackstock said.

The drop-in lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church is the sixth such fundraiser.

As has become tradition, lunch attendees will be able to select a souvenir, one-of-a-kind bowl that has been painted and donated by various members of the community, including potters and students from Gainesville State College.

Some, like those painted by Gov. Nathan Deal and Georgia’s first lady Sandra Deal at INK, will be auctioned off to attendees.

A cookbook featuring art depicting the feelings of hunger and satisfaction by children participating in the food bank’s summer program will also be for sale.

On the menu are salads and chicken wraps provided by McDonald’s and soups and breads provided by other local restaurants, including 2Dog, Johnny’s BBQ, Re-cess, Avocados and Monkey Barrel.

And on the side, there’s an opportunity for community involvement and awareness for the area’s hunger issues.

“That’s where it’s at for us — getting people engaged in what we’re doing,” Blackstock said.