The Food Bank of Delaware marked the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service by cutting the ribbon on its new 70,000-square-foot site in Milford.
The Monday ceremony marked the end of a nearly three-year project to build a new facility to enhance services to residents of Kent and Sussex counties.
After the ribbon was cut, Perdue Chicken delivered the first donation to the facility – two truckloads of chicken weighing in at more than 83,000 pounds.
Attendees also participated in a MLK Day of Service project, packing meal bags for the Food Bank of Delaware’s weekend child meal offering, the Backpack Program.
The new facility features:
- Expanded cold storage and warehouse space to distribute 3.7 million pounds of fresh foods and six million pounds of nonperishable food.
- A Healthy Pantry Center to directly serve those in need of food assistance. The pantry is set up like a mini grocery store so families can select the foods best suited for their households.
- A volunteer room where volunteers can sort and pack donations, create meal boxes and bags, and do other work.
- Classroom and hands-on training space for workforce development programs in culinary and warehousing/logistics.
- Space to plant a 3.5-acre garden to grow fresh foods for the community.
- An on-site café to provide employment opportunities to graduates of the culinary training program, while offering a place for members of the public to buy breakfast and lunch.
The above services are similar to those at the Food Bank’s headquarters site near Newark.
“What an incredible day to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Cathy Kanefsky. “Today, we come together to celebrate a new chapter for our community. This facility represents more than just a building. It embodies our collective commitment of service to others with respect and dignity. This building symbolizes hope for so many. The project has been years in the making, and there are so many who united with us to make this vision a reality. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all who made today possible.”
United States Sen. Tom Carper also spoke at the ceremony.
Further information about getting involved including volunteer opportunities, hours for the new Healthy Pantry Center, and café, are available at www.fbd.org/Milford. Applications are also currently being accepted for the Food Bank’s culinary training programs and for the first-ever warehousing/logistics training program at the Milford branch. Further information is available at www.fbd.org/delawarefoodworks.
