Interfaith Good Samaritan Blue Boxes Help Provide For Community Needs

Interfaith Good Samaritan is looking to the Laramie community to lend a hand to those in need and have set out handy blue boxes at Ridley’s Family Market and Safeway to make it a little easier.

Mike Vercauteren, Interfaith executive director, said they need support from the community to help feed nearly 3,000 people each month.

While Interfaith typically helps people who are living at 125 percent of poverty or less, there is no financial disclosure necessary to receive food assistance from interfaith.

“As far as the food pantry side is concerned, we don’t really require any kind of financial disclosure. Out basic attitude is:   ‘If you come asking for food, we want to give you food, we don’t have the same’,” Charlie Ksir, an interfaith volunteer, said.

Vercauteren said that the pantry gives away 35,000 pounds of food a month and that donations are critical to providing for people in need.

“We give away 35,000 pounds of food each month – the demand is always there and if we don’t receive it in donations we have to buy it,” Vercauteren said. “And we are prepared to do that because people depend on us.”

Interfaith’s blue boxes are an easy way to help those who depend on the Interfaith food pantry. Vercauteren said that shoppers can just pick up a nonperishable item place it in the blue box, which are emptied a few times a week.

Interfaith is always looking for nonperishable foods such as canned vegetables and pasta, but food items that have protein are always in high demand, such as canned tuna or chicken, peanut butter, chili and ravioli.

Interfaith always accepts donations of fresh produce at their location in the Laramie Plains Civic Center. Ksir said they also accept meat, including professionally processed game meat.

For those who want to help a little bit more, Vercauteren said monetary donations are accepted on the Interfaith website and in person. Volunteers are always needed as well.

Ksir also said a common misconception about Interfaith is that it is religiously affiliated. Ksir said Interfaith is supported by a number of religious organizations, but didn't belong to any of them.

"Interfaith is a community organization," Ksir said.