A Letter to the Food Bank of Delaware

November 3, 2015

We recently received the letter below from a senior served through our Senior Nutrition Program. The Senior Nutrition Program is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture and is known nationally as the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Through the program, seniors over the age of 60 who meet income guidelines are able to pick up a free box of food each month. Boxes typically include a block of cheese, canned fruits and vegetables, a protein such as dried beans, peanut butter or canned meat, juice, cereal, pasta or rice and more. When available, we also include fresh produce. Boxes for the program are packed by our dedicated volunteers.

Thanks to partnerships with 62 organizations, we are able to meet the nutritional needs of some our state’s most vulnerable communities. We are currently accepting applications for eligible seniors interested in participating in the monthly food program. To sign up to participate or to receive more information, please contact Dave Weddle, Senior Nutrition Coordinator, at (302) 444-8129 or dweddle@fbd.org.

Dear Food Bank of Delaware,

The Food Bank is a lot of help to me. My income for one month is $805 from social security and my food stamps are $115/month. By the time I pay my bills for the month and try to keep some cash on hand to get household items and gas in my car to go to the store and doctor, I am broke. My food stamps don’t go too far. I always need milk and bread before I get my food stamps again. So I would do without or take money away from my bills. Now with the help from the Food Bank, my food stamps go much further. With the food items I get through the Food Bank program, I can get two to three meals from a few ingredients. One good thing is I get my food from the program before I get my food stamps. This helps me a lot before I go to the store.