Healthy World Café is getting closer to its goal of serving the public full time.

The café has developed a partnership with First Moravian Church's lunchroom program at 41 N. Duke St. in York City and will service lunch there from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday and on May 23.

For the summer months, the café's plan is to be open those hours on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month if it can get proper air conditioning for the lunchroom area, said Sean Arnold, chairman of the café's board.

First Moravian lunchroom - which operates from September to May - is currently running its lunchroom from 11:30 to 1 p.m. on the third Wednesdays of the month.

The lunchroom, started in 2009, planned to close for good in May because its staff - mainly consisting of retirees - had experienced death and health issues. One staff member got a new job, while another plans not to return after May, according to Steve Nicholas, Moravian lunchroom coordinator.

A partnership with the café will help keep the lunchroom going at First Moravian, he said.

The café's new lunch operation will be called "Healthy World Café at the Moravian Lunchroom." Staff from both serving groups will volunteer to help each other's serving operations.

"Our ultimate goal is to one day be open full-time and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner," he said. "But for right now, we're working on our lunch (program). We're glad for the opportunity to partner with First Moravian. This will benefit the community."

How it works: Healthy World Café operates on a community kitchen design based on a model created by Denise Cerreta, founder of One World Everybody Eats Café, based in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

The local café's mission is to provide a place for all York residents to eat and to pay what they can.

"If someone can't pay, we ask them to volunteer with us the next time we're open or when they come back," Arnold said.

"If they would like to give back by volunteering with another organization that really needs help, that's great, too."

The café's menu includes soups, sandwiches, vegetables, fruits, salads and meats from local market houses in York, Lancaster and Adams counties, Arnold said.

He said the café hopes to attract and expand on the customer base established by First Moravian's lunchroom. The customers are mainly people who work downtown and those who prefer low-cost lunches, Arnold said.

First Moravian's lunchroom serves homemade soups, sandwiches and desserts to more than 160 guests each month, Nicholas said.

The partnership with Healthy World Café was established in February, he said. The café will reimburse the church for the cost for using its utilities, he said.

If you go: Healthy World Café at the Moravian Lunchroom will sell lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25, and on May 23, at First Moravian Church's community facility at 41 N. Duke St. in York City.

-Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at 505-5438 or emcmillan@yorkdispatch.com.