The Coalition to End Hunger, Food Bank of Delaware, Delaware Health and Social Services and Delaware 2-1-1 encourage Delawareans to dig a little deeper this winter season to help families struggling to make ends meet. 33% of households served by the Food Bank of Delaware’s network of hunger-relief partners oftentimes report choosing between buying groceries and paying their heating bills.

Delaware ranks 12th worst in the nation for Food Hardship

“This winter has been harsh for all of us,” said Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Patricia Beebe. “But especially for families already struggling to pay their rent/mortgage, heat their homes and put meals on the table. The cold weather, coupled with recent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the expiration of unemployment benefits for some, has made for a very difficult winter.”

Help us Share a Second Helping this winter season! Winter is a difficult time for our neighbors struggling to put meals on the table. Coupled with recent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and ongoing debates in Washington on the future of the program, the Food Bank of Delaware, Delaware Health and Social Services, Delaware 2-1-1 and the Coalition to End Hunger are holding a winter-long giving/awareness campaign.

You can play a role in helping Food Bank of DE to end hunger in Delaware!

There are 3 ways to participate!

1. Host a food drive/fundraiser: Already-strapped hunger-relief organizations are having difficulties keeping up with demand from households in need. Help the Food Bank of Delaware gather the needed food/monetary resources to stock the shelves of local organizations feeding those in need.
2. Educate fellow Delawareans about the services of Delaware 2-1-1: Do you know someone who is need of food assistance? Delaware 2-1-1, a free, confidential and statewide information and referral service for persons seeking assistance. With one phone call, Delaware residents can talk to a trained specialist who will guide them to local agencies that can provide services for not only food, but housing, clothing, utility, rent/mortgage assistance and much more.
3. Advocate for a hunger-free community: While additional resources will help hunger-relief agencies meet some increased demands, they do not address long-term solutions to the problems of poverty and hunger. The winter-long giving campaign will also include an advocacy component to help educate elected officials and the public on the importance of anti-poverty programs, including the federal safety net.

For more information about the campaign,

please contact Kim Turner, Communications Director, at (302) 444-8074 or [email protected].

“Many of the 156,000 food assistance clients we serve at DHSS are working outside of the home,” Secretary Rita Landgraf said. “But their paychecks and their food benefits aren’t always enough. That’s why thousands of our neighbors have to turn to the Food Bank of Delaware and other community partners each month to meet their basic food needs. As this harsh winter continues and needs increase, we ask the community to help us restock the food bank and its partners through the Share a Second Helping campaign.”

With a campaign goal of 100,000 pounds, the Food Bank of Delaware encourages individuals, businesses, community-based organizations, schools, faith-based organizations and others to host winter-long food drives and fundraisers.

A recent study by the Food Research and Action Council shows that Delaware ranks 12th worst in the nation for food hardship amongst households with children. Witnessing firsthand these increased needs from the community, Delaware 2-1-1 fielded more than 100,000 phone calls from Delawareans in need of human services last year.

“Over the last few months, Delaware 2-1-1 has experienced an 11% increase in the number of Delawareans who have utilized our service for assistance with food in comparison to this same time last year,” said Delaware 2-1-1 Director Donna Synder-White. “I’m honored that Delaware 2-1-1 is available to serve our community by guiding our neighbors to local resources so they may provide healthy meals for their families in their time of need.”

Emergency Food Assistance > Delaware 2-1-1 

Central to the campaign’s advocacy component is giving Delawareans utilizing human services a voice in working to bring about systemic change.

“While additional resources will help hunger-relief agencies meet some increased demands, they do not address long-term solutions to the problems of poverty and hunger,” said Coalition to End Hunger Chairwoman Julie Miro Wenger. “We need to work on long-term solutions that will help those struggling to make ends meet. We have working families, seniors, veterans and children that have hunger in common. In this day and age there should be no family, senior, child or vet that has to experience hunger.”

www.fbd.org/share-a-second-helping

To learn more about Share a Second Helping, please visit http://www.fbd.org/share-a-second-helping/. Information about food drives, fundraisers and advocacy can be found there. For individuals in need of emergency food assistance, please contact the Delaware 2-1-1 by simply dialing 2-1-1.

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About the Food Bank of Delaware

The Food Bank of Delaware, a member of Feeding America is a statewide nonprofit agency whose vision is a community free of hunger. Originally founded in 1981 as the Food Conservers, Inc., the Food Bank of Delaware has provided food assistance to Delawareans at risk of hunger for more than 30 years.

Today, through a network of more than 508 hunger-relief program partners, we distribute food to approximately 241,600 hungry people in our community. These individuals are our neighbors, colleagues and coworkers; they’re low to middle-income individuals who oftentimes must choose between paying rent or buying groceries – hunger does not discriminate against age, gender, weight or color.