Arch Street Center Provides Lunches And More
When Arch Street Center, 629 N. Market St., Lancaster, closed its doors on March 13, just prior to the COVID-19 state shutdown, administrators only expected to be closed for a few days while the floors were polished. On March 18, the organization, which is a membership-based day program for adults living with serious mental illness, reopened with the sole goal of providing lunches to members.
"We were worried about our own members (because) they are food insecure," said Susan Lilly, executive director at Arch Street. "What (were) they going to do when community meals were shut down?" Initially, the center only planned to serve members, and the first week, between 30 and 40 lunches were served per day. "Then we started getting calls from other providers asking if they can send folks our way," said Lilly. The center now hands out an average of 75 lunches daily Mondays through Fridays from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. using a touchless system. Lunches are placed on a table in the parking lot behind the center, and recipients wearing masks pick them up. A hand sanitizer table is nearby. "We try to make it as safe as possible," said Susanne Materia, director of development. As of October, Arch Street had served more than 10,000 lunches.
Serving meals has been a small part of what Arch Street does since the center first opened in the basement of St. John Lutheran on Orange Street in 1983. Because the center's entrance faced Arch Street, it became known as Arch Street Center. Materia reported that the initial vision for the center was conceived by a number of women who were caseworkers and families of patients. Materia noted that at the time of the founding mental health recovery involved a number of meetings and doctor appointments. "The founding mothers were very forward thinking, saying (patients) need to have a place to go between (those appointments) to gather, hang out, and have recreation," Materia explained. Originally, the center was open from 3 to 8 p.m. and served sandwiches and slow cooker meals.
Prior to 2014, with the center outgrowing the dark basement, the administrators and the board began actively looking for a place Arch Street could call its own. The building on Market Street was purchased, and then a capital campaign was begun. "This building has been phenomenal," said Materia. While the center was shut down this year, the staff went to work painting and adding the new logo to the walls. The reception area opens into a comfortable, brightly colored living room. There is type of atrium in the center of the building where Materia plans to hang member artwork. There is also a computer lab, a laundry, a locker room, a shower, and a game room.
Since the county went to the green stage, the center has been open to a limited number of members from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. "Social isolation goes against the very fiber of what we are about," said Lilly, who added that members must be screened and wash their hands upon entering.
Arch Street's membership model is based on a referral and a primary mental health diagnosis. A nominal membership fee is charged. With membership, all meals are free.
Currently, the center is in need of food for lunches, including pasta, rice, tofu, chicken, ground beef, cheese, sour cream, whole milk, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, condensed soups, and prepackaged desserts. Reclosable sandwich and snack bags are also needed.
For more information about Arch Street Center, readers may call 717-392-8536 or visit http://www.archstreetcenter.org.
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