Food bank serves an important need in LGBTQ community

A unique food bank in Lancaster County is open to anyone, but it’s serving an important need in the LGBTQ+ community in several ways.Walk into this food bank at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Penryn, near Manheim, and you see many of the staples you’d expect to find.”I do let people shop around because different families have different needs, and I really do want people to have the opportunity to get what they need when they come here,” executive director Parker Webb said.Look a little deeper, and you see why this operation stands out.”It is a passion project that is a partnership between Lititz Chooses Love and St. Paul Penryn, who hosts our food pantry,” Webb said.Lititz Chooses Love is an LGBTQ advocacy group, and the food bank is one of the ways it works to help the community.”Our community definitely suffers from problems of poverty. We definitely have seen an increase in both our volume and in need. Part of that is from us growing as an organization, but the other part also comes from the great need from the community,” Webb said.While many of the volunteers are LGBTQ, the food bank serves anyone and everyone.”Though our community is in great need, this is open for everybody. We do not ask people to be this queer to enter at all. You can just come and ask for food and get it here. We are a no-restrictions food pantry,” Webb said.No restrictions mean no income requirements, and you don’t have to be on public assistance.”You can just come here and ask for food, and we sign you in and you’re done,” Webb said.The food bank provides more than just food for the queer community. It’s a chance to volunteer their time and give back in an affirming environment.”We provide these volunteer opportunities. We provide an opportunity for our community to be able to get these resources. But since it is an opportunity for everybody to get these resources, that means we are just like anybody else in the community. For a lot of people who come in here, they may not have many experiences where they are interacting with the queer community and then after coming here, now they have,” Webb said.They’re providing for the community and being a part of it as well.”Seeing the need for the community and trying to meet that need and continuing from there,” Webb said.