The Lancaster Food Hub on North Queen Street provides more than just healthy food to people who need it. The organization has three key programs serving the community: food, clothing, and an outreach program for those experiencing homelessness.
The Lancaster Food Hub was established in 1947, and began as an organization distributing clothing, a service they still provide today. The organization’s food distribution program offers food not only to walk-in clients but also towards agency partners distributing food to clients, food delivery to low-income senior residents of the Farnum Street East and Church Street Towers high-rise developments, and its “community meal network.” The latter program allows organizations such as churches to obtain free food which they can use to make free community meals.
The Hub has spent years developing is its homeless outreach program, which serves to improve the quality of life for individuals experiencing homelessness. Part of the program was funded through the United Way of Lancaster County’s “Level Up and Launch” grant.
The homeless outreach program, according to Executive Director Paige McFarling, is “outreach through creating relationships and trust with our unsheltered friends that allows us to help see them towards more stable circumstances.” It has run since 2021.
The “more stable circumstances” aspect of the program is not just getting people experiencing homelessness into housing. It includes housing but also getting people into rehab or returning to the place they last considered “home,” such as their parents’, sibling’s or friend’s home.
The outreach program features a room within the Food Hub building which allows people experiencing homelessness to rest, socialize and obtain services through the the organization and others. The Level Up and Launch grant according to McFarling, funds what she called “client services.” This program provides services such as paying housing deposits or first month’s rent, or transportation passes, as well as assisting them with renewing their driver’s license.
The rising housing cost has caused difficulty for the organization in assisting the community. McFarling said that it is “next to impossible” for individuals with low or fixed incomes to obtain housing. The requirements imposed on those attempting to obtain housing, such as minimum income thresholds, have created additional barriers to these people.
“While we haven’t directly been affected, because we have so many relationships with different types of housing,” McFarling said.
The organization is currently expanding the space used for its outreach program by renovating the building’s second floor, which was reported last year which is ongoing. The project will add an elevator, more restrooms including a non-binary restroom, storage spaces for belongings, spaces for private conversations between individuals and their support groups and an outdoor “de-escalation deck” for individuals undergoing crisis. The space is not intended to duplicate the shelter in the Otterbein United Methodist Church nearby, rather to supplement it.
The Lancaster Food Hub is located at 812 N Queen Street in the city of Lancaster. The outreach center is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. To learn more about the Food Hub and its services, visit the organization’s website here.
