William "Gus" Gaither bent over and a picked up a penny in the parking lot of Community Ministry of Southwest Denver.

"Look at this. It's my fortunate day," the 68-year-old Vietnam War veteran said as he loaded bags of groceries and a coat into his car at the ministry's food and clothing bank.

Gaither and about 20,000 low-income residents also count themselves fortunate to have the ministry, which has been helping people make ends meet since 1968.

That's when eight churches banded together to create a food bank for needy families and individuals.

Today the multi-denominational ministry includes 28 churches that work together to help more than 5,600 families, providing food, clothing and utility bill assistance.

For the last three years, the food and clothing bank has shared space alongside a little gymnasium owned by the Garden Park Mennonite Brethren at 1755 S. Zuni St.

Inside storage rooms, some of the ministry's 100 volunteers have stacked and bagged staples such as cans of fruit salad, bags of noodles and boxes of corn flakes. There's also a shelf for a few more exotic donated items such as Parmesan flat bread and sardines.

Mostly, though, the food bank is best known for its steady supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, said Karen Black, the ministry's executive director.

"Clients love that they can get 'real food' at the Community Ministry," she said. "Getting canned food all the time gets old."

The director and one part-time employee are the only paid staff for the ministry, which has an annual budget of about $184,000, most of which goes to purchase food that can't be obtained through donations.

"I know this sounds weird, but occasionally we do run out of mac and cheese," Black said. In all, the ministry gets about $500,000 worth of in-kind donations each year.

The clients are what Black described as the working poor.

"They're working, but the pay is not sustainable. They're not making enough to pay all the bills."

The ministry provided Gaither with food he was not able to afford.

Gaither and his wife care for their mentally impaired 21-year- old daughter.

"I didn't have enough money in the last month to even go to the grocery store," he said after loading his bags into a car with a tattered American flag on the antenna.

It was his second trip to the ministry, but Gaither said he was impressed by the volunteer staff.

"They're friendly. They're loving. They're speedy, and they know what they're doing," he said.

ensslinj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5291

Community Ministry of Southwest Denver

* Mission: To provide food, clothing and utility bill assistance to low-income residents of southwest Denver.

* Year founded: 1968

* Families served: 5,600

* Staff: One full-time, one part-time

* Volunteers: 100

* Budget: $184,000

* Web site: comminis try-denver.org

How to donate

* Post-News Season To Share, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, gave more than $1.79 million to 62 agencies serving children, as well as people who are hungry, homeless or in need of medical care last year. Donations are matched at 50 cents for each dollar, and 100 percent of all donations go directly to local charitable agencies.

* To make a donation, see the coupon on NEWS 41 of today's newspaper, call 888-683-4483 or visit seasontoshare.com.