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Monday, October 2
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From Blessings of Hope website: Where hope, food and the love of Jesus are shared with those in need.
Blessings of Hope is a nonprofit food dissemination center created to be a vital link in the American food chain. Large corporations can efficiently donate food through Blessings of Hope to accomplish zero food waste and give back to the global community.
Only those with vouchers can shop at this selection center in Lancaster, PA. I understand the only other place like it is in Kentucky.
It was a new experience for us, but quite fun. We received 2 vouchers as part of a 60th Wedding Anniversary gift. We will use the other one close to the end of the month. These two are only good for the month of October.
We were there early on Monday morning where trucks seemed to be continually unloading staples and non-staples – donations from local restaurants, grocery stores, delis etc. The unloading and stocking of shelves is done by volunteers who in turn earn vouchers for themselves, or to give to a friend or needy person.
We had fun gathering items and checking out by weighing our cartload of supplies – for a lot less than we expected. After we got home, I chopped some carrots, onions and peppers into soup-sized pieces and placed them in the freezer. I also got several containers of juice and yogurt, plus bread and pastry in the refrigerated area. In the staples part of the store, we found some canned and boxed items.
Volunteers at other locations sort produce, repackage food into manageable sizes and pack boxes for efficient distribution. It made me feel like volunteering. Maybe we will when an-in-the-plans and closer location opens.