Our faith in Jesus Christ is at the heart of Risen Acres. We grow nourishing food and care for God’s creation as we serve our neighbors in Sussex County.
Georgetown, DelawareMeet our heritage breeds and see how they’re raised.
Our Farm & Breeds ↗ Food for our neighborsSee how farm food reaches local families.
Explore the program ↗ Learn a useful skillWatch a short lesson. Cook a simple meal. Keep the recipe.
Recipes & Videos ↗“I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’”
Hosea 10:12 · NLT ↗
We are Matt and Erica Schlitter—Delaware farmers called to care for God’s people and His creation.
Matt grew up in Harbeson and Erica in Frankford. Matt’s family’s agricultural roots in Delaware reach back before the nation’s founding, though farming skipped a few generations. Our shared faith in Jesus Christ is at the heart of this new chapter. After making our home in Lewes, we felt God calling us to start a farm. Risen Acres began in 2023.
While Matt was haying the fields, God called us to “feed His people at no cost.” That calling became the heart of Harvest of Hope: sharing nourishing, farm-raised food with our neighbors, free of charge.
We raise heritage livestock, farm without pesticides or herbicides, and share practical cooking skills—trusting God’s goodness and faithfulness as we serve.
What comes from God’s creation goes back into His creation. We return organic matter and nutrients to the soil and care for the land and animals God has entrusted to us.
Farming without conventional pesticides and herbicides calls for close attention, more hands-on work, and faith through challenges with pests and disease. We put in the work and trust the Lord to provide. Ask us about the great pig escape or the grasshopper apocalypse!
We partner with local low-income communities and deliver farm-fresh food because transportation can be a barrier. We make time for face-to-face relationships: listening, sharing burdens and praises, and praying with our neighbors.
Food Is Medicine connects the farm with nourishment; Food Literacy teaches simple ways to prepare it. Above all, we want every neighbor to know they are seen and loved—by us and our Heavenly Father.
Our family shares the story behind Risen Acres, the animals we raise, and God’s calling to serve our neighbors.
Read our story in Coastal Point ↗“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”
Colossians 3:23 · NIV
Serving God’s people through faithful stewardship. Our volunteer board helps guide Risen Acres as we care for His creation and share nourishing food with our neighbors.
Erica is President and co-founder of Risen Acres, a young woman beginning her farming journey, and a homeschool mom. With degrees in biochemistry and nursing, she also serves as a youth group leader and on her church’s worship team.
Erica grew up in Frankford, Delaware, and was Delaware Junior Miss in 2007. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Swarthmore College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Salisbury University. Today, she is a homeschool mom, a young beginning woman farmer, and President and co-founder of Risen Acres.
Faith in Jesus Christ is central to Erica’s life. She serves as a youth group leader and on the worship team at her church. After making their home in Lewes, Erica and Matt felt God calling them to start a farm. Risen Acres began in 2023, bringing together their faith and a calling to care for God’s people and His creation.
Erica’s education in biochemistry and nursing connects with the farm’s emphasis on nourishment and practical food education. Through Harvest of Hope, Risen Acres follows God’s calling to “feed His people at no cost,” sharing nourishing, farm-raised food with neighbors in Sussex County.
For Erica, that service extends beyond delivering food. The mission makes room for relationships, listening, prayer, and helping families prepare what they receive. She and Matt trust God’s goodness and faithfulness as they steward the land and serve their neighbors.
Robert is a Professional Engineer and Chief Engineering Officer at Ahead Engineering. A husband, father of three, and church deacon, he serves Risen Acres as Secretary.
Robert Pietrocola serves as Secretary of Risen Acres, bringing engineering leadership and a commitment to service to the volunteer board. He is a husband and father of three children and serves as a deacon at his church.
Robert is Chief Engineering Officer at Ahead Engineering, a firm he helped establish. His career spans more than 17 years in structural design and construction across transportation and telecommunications. His early work included managing and designing major infrastructure projects for transportation agencies in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
At Ahead Engineering, he leads structural engineering work involving poles, towers, and wireless infrastructure, develops specialized structural solutions, and prepares traffic control plans. He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, specializing in structural engineering.
Robert brings this background in planning and technical problem-solving to his board service as Risen Acres follows God’s calling to feed His people at no cost.
Marty brings financial advising experience with Presley Financial to his role as Treasurer. He also serves as a current Millsboro Town Councilman and Vice President of the Town Council.
Marty serves as Treasurer of Risen Acres and is a current Town Councilman and Vice President of the Town Council in Millsboro, Delaware. His background in financial advising with Presley Financial, together with his municipal leadership, brings financial and community perspectives to the board’s stewardship of the organization’s resources.
For a volunteer-run farm, financial stewardship connects generosity with practical needs—from seeds and animal feed to processing and delivery. The Treasurer’s role helps the board consider those needs, understand its resources, and plan for the mission’s continued work.
Marty serves alongside a volunteer board committed to supporting Harvest of Hope and the neighbors it reaches. His role contributes to the care and accountability behind each gift as Risen Acres follows God’s calling to feed His people at no cost.
Jennifer brings project management experience with Total Force and 16 years of experience with the U.S. Navy to her service on the board.
Jennifer serves as an Officer on the Risen Acres board. Her background includes high-level project management with Total Force and 16 years of experience with the U.S. Navy.
Project management brings a practical focus on planning, coordination, and following work through to completion. Those skills offer a useful perspective for a farm ministry that brings together seasonal growing, livestock care, volunteers, and food distribution.
As a volunteer board member, Jennifer contributes that perspective to the board’s shared guidance and stewardship. Her service supports Risen Acres’ mission to grow and share nourishing food, build relationships with neighbors, and care faithfully for God’s creation.
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
Proverbs 15:22 · NIV
About 34 acres of Sussex County farmland, pasture, vegetables, and heritage livestock. We seek to honor God by caring for His creation: living soil, healthy pasture, and animals treated with care.
We care for God’s creation by raising slower-growing heritage breeds, including rare breeds on The Livestock Conservancy’s Conservation Priority List. They take more time and resources to raise than commercial breeds, but preserving these animals for future generations is part of our stewardship.
On our farmRare heritage hogs with strong foraging instincts and a long island history.
A piece of living history
Off Georgia’s coast, descendants of Spanish-era pigs adapted to life on Ossabaw Island over centuries. Their resilience and foraging instincts made them a distinctive heritage population. At Risen Acres, they connect thoughtful pasture management with preserving an uncommon piece of America’s farming past.
On our farmHardy hair sheep that shed their coats instead of needing routine shearing.
A Maine-born idea
In the 1950s, Maine breeder Michael Piel began developing a hardy meat sheep that would naturally shed its coat rather than need routine shearing. Named for Mount Katahdin, the breed combines practical grazing ability with a uniquely American origin story.
On our farmA historic New England turkey with distinctive silver-gray barring.
A New England original
Named for Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, these beautifully patterned turkeys trace their development to the early days of American farming. Once important to New England farmyards, they became less common as commercial turkey production changed.
On our farmRare American chickens known for white eggs and striking barred feathers.
The white-egg surprise
Developed in New Jersey in the 1930s, Barred Hollands were bred to do something unusual: produce white eggs while remaining useful as dual-purpose farm chickens. Their striking black-and-white feather pattern makes them memorable; their rarity makes preservation matter.
On our farmSmall Irish cattle traditionally raised for both milk and beef.
Small cattle. Long history.
Dexters come from the hills of southern Ireland, where smaller, hardy cattle suited family farms and limited grazing land. Known as a traditional dual-purpose breed, they provided both milk and beef—and remain prized for their compact size and versatility.
On our farmFarm-raised poultry with a purpose: nourishing meals for our neighbors.
A modern part of an old tradition
Not every chicken on the farm is a rare heritage breed. Our pasture-raised meat birds connect an age-old practice—raising food close to the land—with today’s Harvest of Hope mission to share nourishing meals and practical food knowledge.
Our practices aim to build living soil, use thoughtful grazing rotations, minimize unnecessary inputs, and teach the value of good food.
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;”
Proverbs 27:23 · NIV
Receive God’s provision with gratitude. Learn a simple cooking skill, share a meal, and print a card for your kitchen.
For on-page video playback, open the published website. You can also use the YouTube links from this downloaded copy.
Learn to sear pork chops and check when they’re done.
Serves 4 · Prep 10 minutes
Lesson by America’s Test Kitchen. Our card uses simpler seasoning.
Open on YouTube ↗Pork chops: 145 F minimum, followed by a 3-minute rest. Use a food thermometer.
Learn to wash, cut, and cook leafy greens.
Serves 4-6 sides · Prep 15 minutes
Lesson by Clean & Delicious. Follow our card for ingredients.
Open on YouTube ↗Wash greens thoroughly. Keep raw meat and its utensils separate from ready-to-eat food.
Learn to season and roast chicken safely.
Serves 4 · Prep 10 minutes
Lesson by Cooking With Claudia. Check doneness with a thermometer.
Open on YouTube ↗Chicken: 165 F minimum in the thickest part, away from bone. Use a food thermometer.
Independent video lessons; ingredients may differ from our cards.
FoodSafety.gov cooking temperature guide ↗“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 · NIV
Sharing Christ’s love through farm-fresh food, delivered at no cost. We partner with local low-income communities, bring food directly to neighbors facing transportation barriers, and build relationships through conversation, practical food education, and prayer.
“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Hebrews 13:16 · NIV
Healthy soils support healthy plants. Healthy plants nourish healthy animals. Together, they help nourish healthy people.
We believe caring for God’s creation is part of our calling. Tap a stop to see how soil, plants, animals, and people connect—and why thoughtful stewardship matters.
A learning illustration—not a prediction or measurement of this farm.
Soil minerals and their availability matter, but food nutrition also depends on crop variety, growing conditions, animal feed, and preparation. Depleted soil does not automatically mean deficient meat or illness. Nutritious meals support health; they do not replace medical care.
National Academies: soil, food, and human health ↗Research review: pesticides and soil microbes ↗USDA: caring for living soil ↗“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
Genesis 2:15 · NIV
God called us to “feed His people at no cost.” Your generosity helps us carry that calling to our neighbors.
Your gift helps us raise nourishing food, care for the land and animals, and deliver Harvest of Hope to our neighbors at no cost.
Donate through Zeffy ↗Find @risenacres in the Venmo app to give.
Partner with us through financial support, farm supplies, equipment, or your time. Contact us to talk about current needs and where your help can make a difference.
Talk with us →302.316.6161Risen Acres is 100% volunteer-run. Every dollar supports the mission—from seeds and animal feed to processing and delivery. Every gift helps us serve our neighbors at no cost.
Request financial information →Thank you to the organizations whose generosity has helped Risen Acres grow and serve.
M&T Bank ↗
The Wawa Foundation ↗
Weis Markets ↗
Georgetown–Millsboro Rotary Club ↗
Lewes Rehoboth Association of Congregations (LRAC) ↗We are also grateful for the individuals, churches, and volunteers who give, pray, and serve alongside us.
“God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7 · NIV (excerpt)
