OUR PARTNER MINISTRY FEEDING THE HUNGRY AND SHARING THE LOVE OF GOD
Blessings of Hope is a nonprofit organization in Leola, Pennsylvania that partners with Gleanings to send surplus food to hungry people. A sign on their wall states: “Food is our tool. Helping people experience God is our goal.”
Gleanings first connected with Blessings of Hope in 2023. “We had so many truckloads of pasta donated all at once,” Warehouse Manager Jesse Correll said. “Sometimes we are offered more than we need. We love to share those excess donations with other food ministries.” Andy Rotunno, director of distribution, reached out to Blessings of Hope, and they eagerly accepted several truckloads of pasta. Taking the 1,000-pound boxes of noodles, volunteers at Blessings repackaged it into smaller bags to give out to ministry partners.
Jesse and Elisabeth Correll visited Blessings of Hope in January 2025. While touring the facility, they learned that an estimated 80 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States per year. Blessings accepts surplus food from supermarkets, farmers and distribution centers who would otherwise throw the excess food away. “A lot of food banks can’t accept food in bulk,” said founder, Aaron Fisher. “We use volunteers to help package food into smaller quantities that churches can handle.”
Blessings of Hope is now working with Barnabas Aid, (another Gleanings’ Partner) to dehydrate fresh vegetables and create a nine-ingredient soup mix. Through trial and error, employees at Blessings have been learning how to dehydrate zucchini, peppers, sweet potatoes, kale, and more. Some of this soup mix has gone to Cuba, Haiti, and Guatemala—places where people are desperate for food.
The similarities between Gleanings and Blessings are many. Both Gleanings’ founder, Wally Wenge, and Blessings’ Founder, Aaron Fisher, saw a need and saw food waste. They innovated to redirect the goods to hungry people. This is the heart of Jesus, calling His disciples to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters in a variety of ways. “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” James 2:14-16. Thank you, Blessings of Hope, for sharing our vision: sharing the love of God through the gift of food.