GEORGETOWN, Del. – Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined anti-hunger advocates for the Food Bank of Delaware’s drive-thru distribution event at Crossroad Community Church here.
Sen. Coons, who spoke to help raise awareness about food insecurity, joined Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Hunger Free America CEO Joel Berg, Food Bank of Delaware officials, advocates, and volunteers at the July 6 event.
“Food insecurity in Delaware and around the globe increased sharply amid COVID-19,” Sen. Coons said. “COVID relief funding and organizations like Hunger Free America and the Food Bank of Delaware have helped provide food to our neighbors who need it most. As the country continues to recover from the pandemic, we need to make sustained investments in a food system that is fair and resilient.”
Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, a national nonpartisan nonprofit organization, attended at the Georgetown, Del. event, as part of a coast-to-coast journey this summer to shine a light on the continuing national hunger crisis, to meet with those working on the front lines of hunger, and to advocate for long-term, public policy solutions to food insecurity.
In addition to volunteering his time, Berg highlighted the importance of federally-funded anti-hunger programs.
The Food Bank of Delaware’s monthly distributions started at the beginning of the pandemic to help food-insecure families. While demand for food assistance in Delaware has dropped significantly since the early months of the public health crisis, more than 114,000 Delawareans may experience food insecurity in 2021. In just one week in June 2021, 21,707 Delaware households did not have enough to eat, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.
In March 2021 (the most recent month for which data is available), the federally-funded SNAP program (formerly called food stamps), provided 113,352 Delaware residents with nearly $24.3 million worth of food, a significant increase as a result of a recent expansion to the program enacted by the Biden Administration and Congress.
Photo cover: U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (both D-Del.) join Hunger Free America CEO Joel Berg (left) at the Food Bank of Delaware’s drive-thru distribution event at Crossroad Community Church in Georgetown, Del., July 6, 2021. Coons spoke at the event to help raise awareness of food insecurity. (U.S. Senate Photo by Tacy Cresson/Released).
