Delaware Food Bank to host three more drive-thru events as expanded food benefits drop

Molly McVety, Delaware News Journal
Updated ·2 min read
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The Delaware Food Bank is hosting three more drive-thru distribution events for residents next week.

There will be one event for each county. All events are first-come-first-serve, but you are encouraged to preregister. All events start at 10 a.m., but lines usually start forming hours earlier.

When and where you can pick up food

  • Sussex County: Monday, April 17, at Crossroads Community Church. Preregister

  • Kent County: Wednesday, April 19, at Dover Motor Speedway. Preregister

  • New Castle County: Friday, April 21 at Delaware Technical Community College, Stanton. Preregister

You must stay inside your vehicle with your trunk cleared out for the volunteers to distribute the food items.

Do I qualify

Attendees must bring proof of Delaware residency and meet household income requirements that are listed on the registration page. For example, a family of four must have a household income below $55,500.

Meeting the need in Delaware

These events come just a few weeks after the Food Bank served over 4,000 families statewide during their efforts at the end of March, seeing historic turnout after the expiration of pandemic-era SNAP benefits.

Background: 4,000 families served at drive-thru food pantries after food assistance drops

The federal government announced in January that extra SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, were set to expire nationwide at the end of February. These emergency allotments have been in place since around the start of the pandemic.

Nearly 124,000 Delawareans have relied on this extra federal stipend for the past three years, which granted recipients the maximum amount of benefits for their household size. People received their last emergency allotment Feb. 28.

Over 1,200 people were served and over 100,000 pounds of food were distributed at each event, with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

Kim Turner, communications director for the Delaware Food Bank, confirmed that similar events are planned for May and June, although dates have not been finalized yet.

For more information on how to get help or how to volunteer with the Delaware Food Bank, visit fbd.org.

Contact Molly McVety at mmcvety@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Food Bank announces three more drive-thru events