Food Bank of Delaware receives $1.5 million from the Longwood Foundation
January 12, 2018
The Food Bank of Delaware announced today that the Longwood Foundation has made a $1.5 million gift towards the organization’s Creating a Bold Future capital campaign.
To better serve the community, the Food Bank acquired an 80,000-square-foot facility in July 2016. Located at 222 Lake Drive in Newark, this new building will enable the organization to maximize operational efficiency, while increasing capacity to meet the needs of people experiencing food insecurity.
Relocating to 222 Lake Drive will provide the Food Bank with the opportunity to:
- Operate more efficiently
- Grow foods on a 3.5-acre farm
- Train more people
- Feed more people
- Increase educational/outreach workspace
- Plan for the future
The Longwood Foundation’s gift will help support the project’s $10 million construction budget. To date, the organization has raised close to $9 million. $4.5 million was used to purchase the facility. Over the past year, the Food Bank of Delaware has spent time designing the building to best meet the needs of the community. An extensive value engineering process also took place to help drive down project costs. Construction on the farm began in November 2017 and interior construction will begin in early 2018.
“We are so grateful for the Longwood Foundation’s support of this critical project,” said Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Patricia Beebe. “This gift is significant to all of Delaware as it will allow us to do more to meet not only the nutritional needs of food insecure Delawareans, but also provide workforce development training opportunities so adults can secure good-paying jobs so they no longer need our services. 222 Lake Drive will truly be a destination where we can educate the community of the issues of poverty and hunger.”
To learn more about the Food Bank of Delaware’s Creating a Bold Future capital campaign and to see construction progress photos, please visit www.aboldfutureforfbd.org.
