2025 Annual Report

A review of service to the community

Rising costs for housing, utilities, and food continued to strain local families in 2025, driving more neighbors to Helping Harvest. The uncertainty surrounding the delivery of federal Supplemental Nutrition Access Program (SNAP) benefits in the fall exacerbated fear over food security. 

In the face of growing need, Hope Full Life Center remained steadfast in its mission to offer a hand up through Helping Harvest, our community food assistance program. We did more than distribute groceries; we walked alongside hundreds of individuals and families, providing practical support and encouragement during difficult times.

2025 also marked Helping Harvest’s 15th Anniversary. For 15 years, this small grocery program has empowered struggling people by stretching their food dollars while preserving dignity and choice. As need continues to grow, so does our resolve to serve with compassion, consistency, and hope.

What is Hope Full Life Center?

• Hope Full Life Center is a 501(C)3 not-for-profit corporation founded in 2012.

• The organization assists the needy in Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk and throughout southern Albany County and the surrounding region through Helping Harvest, a community food assistance program.

• Mission Statement: Hope Full Life Center empowers people. Activated by compassion, our outreach provides a helping hand, not a hand-out, to improve life for our neighbors.

2025 Program Highlights

Helping Harvest

Helping Harvest bridges the gap between food pantries and for-profit grocery stores. Families can stretch their food budgets at Helping Harvest to ensure they have enough food and nutrition for their households. The program functions like a grocery store. Our clients, who we call 'members,' make their own selections and pay for their groceries, but at prices lower than elsewhere. Families save up to 50% on groceries from Helping Harvest.

2025 Statistics

• Helping Harvest sent home $170,000 worth of groceries with low-income families in the area. Since its inception, the charity has sent home nearly $2 million worth of groceries with struggling families.

• Helping Harvest has 361 current members. We have served 2,063 members since we opened in 2010.

• 107 new families enrolled in Helping Harvest in 2025.

• Total member shopping visits to Helping Harvest in 2025 was 3,364.

• When we add members and all the people in their households, Helping Harvest assisted nearly 1,000 people in the area with food and nutrition last year. Since inception we have served nearly 9,000 individuals and families.

• 250 members are from Albany County, but we also have people travel from Greene, Columbia, Rensselaer and Schenectady Counties to use Helping Harvest.

• 198 children under age 18 were served by Helping Harvest in 2025.

Community Minded

• When we have an over-abundance of food we share it with the Greene County Food Security Coalition, Ravena Senior Projects, Capital City Rescue Mission and Bargain Grocery in Troy, which is affiliated with Utica-based charity, Compassion Coalition.

• We continue to purchase produce from Black Horse Farms, a family farm located in Coxsackie. Black Horse Farms also donates some fruits and vegetables to Helping Harvest.

Other 2025 Accomplishments

Stretching food dollars further with SNAP

Members utilize our low prices and their SNAP benefits to stretch their food budgets even further. We also continue to serve many people who don’t qualify for SNAP, but are struggling, and those who refuse to enroll in public assistance.

Continued Access

Helping Harvest is open six days a week for a total of 22 hours, far longer than any food pantry in the area.

Thanksgiving Meals

We distributed 60 Thanksgiving meals to families in need thanks to support from City Church Ravena and Ravena News Herald's Feed Your Mind, Feed a Family event.

Blessing Boxes

During the Christmas season we gave away 75 Blessing Boxes to families in need. The boxes were full of household paper products, cleaning supplies and common groceries like peanut butter, pasta and sauce. We also included some festive holiday food items.

Local business TCI of NY, LLC and the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation made the Blessing Box Project possible.

We identified plenty of need with Helping Harvest members where all boxes were distributed. 2025 marked the eighth year Hope Full Life Center ran the Blessing Box program during the Christmas season.

Acts of Kindness - Celebrating Helping Harvest’s 15th Anniversary

Hope Full Life Center celebrated Helping Harvest’s 15th Anniversary by performing acts of kindness in the community. Our volunteer teams helped at Trinity Methodist Church’s community garden; did yard work at a local widow’s home; picked up trash in the Village of Ravena; cleaned furniture at fellow charity, Refurnishings; delivered huge snack trays for teachers and staff at all four RCS Central School District buildings in June; and hosted a food drive for local food pantries. We also hosted an ice cream social in June to celebrate the anniversary.

Volunteers

A core group of 15 volunteers and staff kept Helping Harvest running in 2025. In total, volunteers spent at least 1,500 hours of their time assisting Helping Harvest’s operations last year.

In addition to our core volunteers, we were thrilled to welcome students from the RCS Central School District last year. Twice a month these students come to the program for on-the-job-training and help us complete a variety of tasks.

Grants and Donations

HFLC generates the bulk of its operating income from program usage and grants. The charity was grateful to receive grants from these foundations: Alexander & Marjorie Hover Foundation, Seymour Fox Memorial Foundation, Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, J.M. McDonald Foundation, W.G. Broughton Foundation, Community Foundation of the Greater Capital Region, National Bank of Coxsackie, Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation, Stewart’s Holiday Match and WGY Christmas Wish. 

Many individuals and businesses, especially the Port of Coeymans and P&M Brick, also support our work. Trader Joe’s, Market 32 and Essendant donated groceries and cleaning supplies to us throughout the year. Thanks to our landlord, Flach Development & Realty, we pay extremely low rent. We are grateful to each of these organizations who believe in our work and who help us walk out our mission.

Impact

Hope Full Life Center is proud not only of what we provide, but how we provide it. Helping Harvest offers more than affordable groceries — it offers dignity, choice, and respect. Members select foods that fit their families’ needs and tastes, contributing to their own well-being while sustaining a program that serves others.

Members have great things to say about Helping Harvest:

“It's quite a blessing & truly helpful!,” Lissa, Facebook Recommendation, October 2025

None of this work happens alone. It is made possible by faithful volunteers, generous donors, committed community partners, and the resilience of the families we serve. Together, we continue to live out the calling found in Matthew 25:35-40, serving our neighbors with compassion, humility, and hope.

With gratitude for all who make this ministry possible,

Rebecca Flach

Executive Director