Filling a plain paper sack with a sandwich or savory leftovers is one of the best ways to eat healthier and save some hard-earned cash. And as of last spring, it’s also an easy way to help feed the homeless, hungry, and working poor in Myrtle Beach through Joe’s Lunch Bunch.

While searching for ways that he could personally help the homeless, Myrtle Beach businessman Joe Garrell discovered a decidedly simple way more fortunate residents can lend a hand: skip lunch. Or, rather, skip lunch out once a week and give the money saved to the hungry. A $5 to $10 restaurant lunch tab may seem trivial, but multiplied among members of Joe’s Lunch Bunch it packs a sizable punch.

Money saved on all those lunches is donated to the Myrtle Beach Community Kitchen where volunteers and staff combine 100 pounds of potatoes, eighty pounds of meat, fifty pies, bushels of fruit, and more, to feed an average of 300 hungry people at lunch each weekday. Though this nonprofit receives funding from faith-based groups and the United Way of Horry County, the economic pressures of escalating unemployment are making donations increasingly important to the kitchen’s mission.

“I tried to come up with something that was no pressure,” says Garrell. He adds that Joe’s Lunch Bunch differs from a single fundraising event in that it is ongoing. “A significant feature of our effort is that it’s perpetual.” The concept of giving up just a little to help many has appealed to Grand Strand diners: Joe’s Lunch Bunch has raised nearly $3,000 and is working steadily toward a 2010 goal of 100 members.

So if you’re ready to give up that weekly greasy burger combo or pizza slice, pack a crinkly, homespun sack lunch and join Joe on his quest to recruit Lunch Bunch members and feed those in need.