Anchor Lancaster started out at St. James Episcopal Church in Downtown Lancaster almost 30 years ago in the 1980's.  It started with giving warm cup of coffee to a few people to help them on cold mornings.  Over the next 30 years, St. James continued serving the community, helping neighbors who needed food start their day off with food to eat.  The need grew and St. James met the need of many for over 30 years,  When they could no longer house the program, a search started to find a new home for the program.  Our thanks and praise go out to St. James everyday for all the hard work and love they gave to our neighbors and guests in need.

On August 1, 2017, the program transitioned to First United Methodist Church on the corner of Duke and Walnut streets in Lancaster City.  The church took on the ministry with full force.  Within a year, the program became a non-profit entity, started serving over 180 people a day, works with over 150 volunteers a week, hired their own security service and continues to grow every day.  

A shower program was added which has grown to a 5 day a week opportunity for our guests.