Georgetown, Del., July 24, 2012: Sussex County is feeding critical funding to a worthy local organization to help put a dent in hunger in southern Delaware.

County Council, at its Tuesday, July 24, 2012, meeting, presented a $25,000 check to the Food Bank of Delaware as a contribution toward the organization’s multi-million-dollar capital campaign. The Food Bank soon will break ground on a $2.8 million expansion at its Milford branch, nearly doubling the size of the current 8,000-square-foot facility that warehouses food for distribution to the hungry in central and southern Delaware.

“Hunger touches so many lives and it reaches all corners of our state, including right here in Sussex County,” said County Council President Michael H. Vincent. “The County Council is proud to be a partner in the Delaware Food Bank's mission to eradicate hunger for every Delawarean, and we're pleased to be able to provide this critical funding for the Food Bank's capital campaign. In the end, it will mean backpacks for needy schoolchildren and food on the table for thousands of families right here.”

Food Bank of Delaware officials thanked County Council for its support of the organization’s campaign, which is still ongoing and needs to raise another $1 million.

“Residents of Sussex County are depending on us to meet the emergency food and job-training needs of our community,” said Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Patricia Beebe. “We’re thankful that Sussex County Council recognizes these critical needs and is taking action to address them. This generous gift puts us one step closer to making our expansion a reality.”

Plans call for the construction of an industrial-sized kitchen to prepare hot meals for children in after-school enrichment programs, as well as house The Culinary School at the Food Bank of Delaware. The creation of a volunteer room will eliminate the need for volunteers to work in warehouse aisles, and additional space will support other hunger-relief programming for residents of Kent and Sussex counties.

The Culinary School will serve under- and unemployed adults, individuals in prison re-entry programs and the disabled, Food Bank officials said. The school will be a second site to the existing Culinary School at the organization’s main warehouse in Newark. As a result of the expansion, 45 additional students will receive culinary job training annually at the Milford branch.

A groundbreaking is scheduled for September 17, and the organization anticipates completion within the year. To learn more about the Food Bank of Delaware and its capital campaign, visit www.fbd.org.

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