Legislation Document

WHEREAS, on March 26, 1981 a committee incorporated the Food Conservers, Inc. and it operated out of a modest basement of the Northeast State Social Service Center in Wilmington, serving 50 member agencies; and

WHEREAS, in 1991 the name of the organization was changed to the Food Bank of Delaware; and

WHEREAS, the Food Bank of Delaware is the largest hunger relief organization in the State of Delaware; and

WHEREAS, the Food Bank of Delaware has been on the front line of ensuring that thousands of Delawareans have access to the food resources they so vitally need; and

WHEREAS, according to Feeding America, currently there are 114,190 Delawareans experiencing food insecurity; and

WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2021, the Food Bank of Delaware distributed approximately 15,536 million pounds of food throughout Delaware, served 66,591 households thorough its Mobile Pantry program, distributed 140,159 meal kits to at-risk youth through its Backpack program, and provided 23,183 supplemental food boxes through the Commodity Supplemental Food program and Palmer Home Foundation; and

WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2021, 14,912 individuals volunteered their time for a total of 46,804 donated hours, which is the equivalent of 23 full-time staff members; and

WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for food assistance to unprecedented levels; and

WHEREAS, March 16, 2020 through March 31, 2022, the Food Bank of Delaware responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by facilitating 67 mass drives through distribution events throughout the State of Delaware serving 71,532 households , serving 61,869 households through the Healthy Pantry Centers at their Newark and Milford locations , and distributing more than 33 million pounds of food to the community; and

WHEREAS, in May of 2021, the Food Bank of Delaware welcomed a new President and CEO, Cathy Kanefsky to the organization; and

WHEREAS, the Food Bank of Delaware currently employs 76-full time and part-time employees as its Newark and Milford facilities; and

WHEREAS, the Food Bank of Delaware has played a significant role in improving access to and the efficiency of the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp Program) in Delaware; and

WHEREAS, the Food Bank of Delaware has two workforce development programs – The Culinary School at the Food Bank of Delaware and L.O.G.I.C. (Logistics, Operations, General Warehousing and Inventory Control) that successfully graduated 73 job ready students in fiscal year 2021; and

WHEREAS, the Food Bank of Delaware will continue to provide nutritious foods to Delawareans in need and facilitate long-term solutions to the problems of hunger and poverty through community education and advocacy; and

WHEREAS, the Food Bank of Delaware’s 5-acre farm in Newark consists of a propagation house, three high tunnels, a demonstration garden, beehives, and field growing space producing vegetables throughout the year; and

WHEREAS, the Food Bank of Delaware sells the vegetables they produce at an on-site farm stand and distributes the vegetables through the farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership program and through the on-site Healthy Pantry Center; and

WHEREAS, the Food Bank of Delaware is looking forward to building a new approximately 70,000-square-foot facility in Milford later this year that will ensure appropriate food resources are available downstate, while increasing capacity throughout the State.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 151st General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the Food Bank of Delaware is hereby honored for its continued dedication to the health and nourishment of the citizens of Delaware, as well as its endeavors to further expand resources available throughout the State.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Senate Concurrent Resolution be presented to representatives of the Food Bank of Delaware upon its enactment by the General Assembly.