Elisabeth Lahti Nutrition Center

The Elisabeth Lahti Nutrition Center plays a key role in the effective delivery of high quality, nutritious meals to our clients and partners.  This volunteer-driven program creates sandwiches, salads, and side dishes; prepares delicious, well-balanced, pre-cooked meals; repackages large quantities of recovered food from local markets and restaurants; and packages bulk produce from our Growing Hope Farm, gleaning, or other food partners.  This facility produced 25,365 meals last year.

Launching this year, House of Hope has purchased two freeze dryers, two dehydrators, and two modified-atmosphere packaging machines to enhance our food production program. This equipment will allow us to reduce overall food waste by transforming bulk perishable foods into shelf-stable, preserved meals and snacks. These healthy options will also increase the availability of nutrient-dense, lightweight, non-perishable foods for individuals experiencing homelessness and strengthen the emergency preparedness of our clients and food bank partners. 

The new equipment will also allow us to create a product line of sauces, dried herbs, snacks, and ready-to-eat shelf-stable meals, as well as fresh produce options for sale and distribution—significantly increasing our capacity to further our mission.