Blessings of Hope, Founded by Excommunicated Amish Family, Expands Food Distribution Efforts

David Lapp, CEO of Blessings of Hope, a nonprofit that supplies food to food banks, homeless shelters and other charities, is pictured in a room where volunteers pack bread for distribution on Monday, March 8, 2021.

The Lapp family’s journey with Blessings of Hope began in 2005, when they were excommunicated from the Amish community in Indiana and returned to Pennsylvania. This event marked a significant shift in their lives, leading them to focus on community service and charitable work.

In 2006, David Lapp and his family founded Light of Hope Ministries in Ephrata. Around the same time, Aaron Fisher, Lapp’s brother-in-law, began assisting at Christ Community Church in Harrisburg and brought food home for the family and to distribute to local ministries. These efforts eventually evolved into Blessings of Hope, operating initially from a three-car garage.

By 2010, Blessings of Hope had opened its first food collection warehouse at Trout Run Business Center in Ephrata. Over the next decade, the nonprofit continued to grow, frequently moving from warehouse to warehouse to accommodate increasing demand.

In 2011, Light of Hope Ministries filed Blessings of Hope as a fictitious name with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, distinguishing it from its parent organization. This step helped clarify the nonprofit’s operations and legal standing.

August 2019 saw Blessings of Hope purchase property for $1.25 million on 500 Becker Road, Leola, from the former home of the Hess Brothers Fruit Co. This acquisition was aimed at expanding the nonprofit’s capacity to meet regional food distribution needs. The IRS recognized Blessings of Hope as tax-exempt, exempting it from federal income tax and annual 990 financial reports.

April 2020 marked a surge in demand for food aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Blessings of Hope distributing 67 million pounds of food in 2020—more than three times the amount distributed in 2019. September 2020 brought a notable moment when leaders at Blessings of Hope gave Ivanka Trump a tour of their food distribution center on Becker Road in Warwick Township. That same month, the nonprofit opened its first satellite location in Campbellsville, Kentucky.

June 2021 saw Blessings of Hope purchasing a 46-acre farm for $3.5 million at 1850 Diamond Station Road in West Earl Township. The nonprofit applied for a zoning change to build a $30 million distribution center in an agricultural area, but West Earl Township officials denied the request. As a result, the distribution center remains unbuilt.

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