Located at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 222 N. George St., Millersville, the Loft Community Partnership (LCP) aims to alleviate poverty within Penn Manor School District by creating a centralized location for residents to benefit from various services, including food, clothing, toiletries, referrals for transportation, and other services in the areas of finances and education. To accomplish this goal, LCP strives to partner with agencies within Lancaster County and help them to meet the needs of families within the district.

After completing a needs assessment and discovering that there is a lack of transportation in the district, LCP searched for ways to bring resources to those who reside in the southern part of the Penn Manor area. Then along came a partnership with Martic Pantry, Kitchen Cupboard, and Bare Essentials.

Martic Pantry, Kitchen Cupboard, and Bare Essentials are organizations that help those in need in different ways. Martic Pantry operates out of the same building as Martic Store, 561 Martic Heights Drive, Holtwood, and provides financial, medical, home, and vehicle maintenance services to residents of Martic Township who are experiencing hardship. One of the primary services Martic Pantry offers is providing food cards that can be used at the Martic Store. The recipients of these food cards can purchase the items they need as opposed to getting a prefilled box. Kitchen Cupboard and Bare Essentials are ministries within Mount Nebo United Methodist Church, 673 Martic Heights Drive, Pequea. Both ministries serve residents of the southern part of Penn Manor School District as well as those who live in Solanco School District. Bare Essentials provides socks and underwear to people of all ages while Kitchen Cupboard supplies nonfood items such as soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, and gas cards.

LCP currently has a clothing bank located in the basement of Martic Store that operates on the same schedule as Kitchen Cupboard and Bare Essentials, which is the first Saturday of each month from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and the second Friday of each month from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

"We're trying to not duplicate something someone else has going on," stated David Gochnauer, vice president of the Martic Pantry's board of directors. "Let's work together rather than all of us trying to do everything."

"We've never wanted to be the end, all be all," explained LCP community liaison Deb Meckley. "Our job is to sort of get everybody connected so that we could do referrals in multiple directions and get people connected to the resources they need."

"I am thrilled to have a clothing bank nearby," said Sharon Aukamp, director of Kitchen Cupboard. "I just can't imagine how daunting it can be if you are desperately in need of something, and for them to overcome their pride to step out of their comfort zone. I just think it's thrilling to have a network that we could say, 'We can help you with that.'"

For more information about LCP, visit http://www.loftcommunitypartnership.org, email loftcp@gmail.com, call 717-723-8180, or search for "The Loft Community Partnership" on Facebook. To learn more about Martic Pantry, search for "Martic Pantry" on Facebook, call 717-923-0561, or email marticpantry@gmail.com. More details about Kitchen Cupboard can be found by visiting http://www.mtneboumc.org/kitchen-cupboard-monthly-donation-schedule.html.