The Food Bank of Delaware’s main warehouse in Glasgow was flooded with volunteers on Tuesday night, as the food bank faces United States Department of Agriculture cuts which eliminated 750,000 pounds of food for Delaware.
Members of the Delaware House Democratic Caucus held a donation drive at the Food Bank of Delaware on Tuesday in Newark.
Rep. Eric Morrison says that he's had numerous people expressing to him that they feel overwhelmed by the various conflicts happening in the country and want to help causes that they care about.
Morrison organized the event in response to the cuts in federal grants starting this month.
"We're collecting food, have a volunteer evening inside, and we're also trying to bring awareness," Morrison says. "Between April and July alone, the Food Bank [of Delaware] is going to lose 900,000 meals that they would normally give out and this is devastating to the people who use the food banks-- seniors, children, individuals with disabilities, and families who are barely scraping by. It's a lot of folks."
Morrison says individuals that aren't in the federal government can also make significant changes.
"A lot of people feel that unless they're in an elected office, they can't do anything, but it's not true. We really need people volunteering at the food bank," Morrison says.
If there are other causes that are calling you, Morrison encourages Delawareans to get involved with them too.
"If you're passionate about women's rights, go talk to Planned Parenthood or First State Abortion Fund," says Morrison. "There's at least one group in Delaware every issue, and it can be hard, but reach out to your local elected officials and ask, 'How can I get involved? Here's what I'm interested in.' And we'll get you in the right direction."
Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Cathy Kanefsky says they've been presented with an additional list of challenges.
"We're constantly figuring out how we will pivot if we need to," says Kanefsky. "Are we going to be in the position where we can provide the food that we've been providing to the numbers of people that we have been providing it for? We don't know."
She says that the Food Bank of Delaware is looking into serving the community in the most effective and efficient ways possible.
Kanefsky's call to action is quite simple.
"Anybody who thinks that one in five children going to bed hungry [in Delaware] is okay has got to help us figure out how to make that not happen," Kanefsky says. "We're going to try to figure out how to continue to feed those babies."
"I'm so grateful that I get to do this work. There are a lot of people that need us. Everybody knows what's going on right now and the need for our services has not gone down," says Kanefsky. "Now we're finding it harder to meet that need, but that means there are people there that are needing us even more, and we're motivated."
Kanefsky began her role at the Food Bank recognizing that there is a need, but she also had a moment of introspection.
She says that no one ever assumes that they will find themselves food insecure, needing financial help, or becoming homeless.
There were numerous challenges in raising her children; she never knew what the next day would bring as she navigated her life with two out of her three children being born prematurely and with autism.
Kanefsky says that unknowns can pop up throughout life, including needing assistance putting food on the table.
"Nobody in this world knows what tomorrow's going to bring; for anybody to think that they're not going to need help, someday-- I hope that they don't," she says. "But most likely they will, and I think the people that are able to see that, see the world in a different way. They see the opportunity to help as a calling."
WDEL is an institution which seeks to uphold the tenets of free speech, and improve its community by shining a light on the issues that most impact Delaware. With that said, this website should be used for civil discussion. Paraphrasing one of the world’s largest websites: Be courteous to others. Attack ideas, not humans. Treat others with basic decency. No personal attacks, hate-speech, flaming, baiting, trolling, witch-hunting, shilling, unsubstantiated accusations, or threats of violence. Do not post personal information about other individuals.