Grant Spotlight: St. Anne’s Brown Bag Lunch Program

A $25,000 grant from the Federal Association awarded to the Brown Bag Lunch Program at St. Anne Catholic Church of Lancaster, PA funded a transformation of the kitchen, storage area and bathroom used for this program.

The Brown Bag Lunch Program is an active ministry with significant impact in the community.  It provides the only noontime meal in the city of Lancaster to all who come to the door. In existence over 20 years, the program provides an average of 140 nutritious lunches daily, five days per week, serving over 22,000 lunches in the past year. The program is staffed by more than 50 volunteers from the Lancaster community, including Members of the Order who work at the program monthly. The Brown Bag Lunch Program is funded by the St. Vincent DePaul Society of the St. Anne Parish, and the generous donations from parishioners and members of the community. 

The grant funds were used to renovate and remodel an existing kitchen to increase the areas used for the preparation and distribution of lunches. In addition, a storage area was updated, a new handicapped accessible restroom created, and new lighting and flooring added. The improved spaces have afforded the program greater efficiency to meet the growing number of people requesting a daily lunch.

The Brown Bag Lunch Program fulfills a vital mission in Lancaster, and the Order has provided much needed support to maintain and continue the goal of this program while honoring one of the charisms of the Order: serving the poor.