Delaware Food Bank's longest-serving volunteers and why they donate their time

Amethyst Martinez, Delaware News Journal
·6 min read

Despite holidays, a pandemic and more, volunteers at the Food Bank of Delaware know that the job of feeding children, the elderly or entire families isn't going to get done itself.

From the 2022-2023 fiscal year, over 55,000 hours were donated to the Food Bank, with 18,603 volunteer visits helping families get not only food, but basic necessities like shampoo, deodorant and more.

Over 17 million pounds of food were distributed at the Food Bank of Delaware over the span of the 2022-2023 fiscal year − an increase of over 4% from the year prior.

Minority groups are among the most food insecure in the state, with 18% of African-American Delawareans and 18% of Hispanic Delawareans facing food insecurity, according to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study.

According to the food bank, food distribution has steadily increased since the pandemic, with more visits to the on-site pantries than at the height of the pandemic.

Here are some of the longest-standing volunteers at the food bank and their stories.

Phil Williamson

Phil Williamson, a volunteer for 12 years at the Food Bank of Delaware, reaches for the tape in the volunteer room at the Food Bank in Milford, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.
Phil Williamson, a volunteer for 12 years at the Food Bank of Delaware, reaches for the tape in the volunteer room at the Food Bank in Milford, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.

Phil Williamson has donated his time to the food bank's Milford location for 12 years and has plans to continue for as long as he is physically able.

From Lewes, Williamson donates his time two days a week to the bank. Though he began volunteering three years before he retired, he's now able to dedicate more time to fill his schedule.

"You're doing something to help out others because everybody needs help from time to time, and we've all been there," said 70-year-old Williamson. "And selfishly, it makes me feel good."

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Phil Williamson, a volunteer for 12 years at the Food Bank of Delaware, organizes food boxes in the volunteer room at the Food Bank in Milford, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.
Phil Williamson, a volunteer for 12 years at the Food Bank of Delaware, organizes food boxes in the volunteer room at the Food Bank in Milford, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.

According to Williamson, the Milford location has been focusing recently on backpack meal kits, which are bags distributed to children usually on the weekends. The food bank gave out 278,963 kits last fiscal year.

"We give them food that'll get them through the weekend," Williamson said. "It's sad, but it's a big need."

Surrounded by cardboard and canned goods, Williamson worked alongside other volunteers while listening to oldie hits on a Thursday morning, a reoccurring setting for him.

In just that morning alone, four and a half pallets of backpack kits were made: eight kits in a box, with 36 boxes per pallet.

Aaron Stone, a volunteer placement manager at the food bank, has worked with Phil for six years.

"Having someone like Phil here ... sets the precedent, the role model, of what it should look like to be a regular volunteer," Stone said. "He is reliable and constantly goes beyond our expectations."

Phil Williamson, a volunteer for 12 years at the Food Bank of Delaware, seals a product bag at the Food Bank in Milford, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.
Phil Williamson, a volunteer for 12 years at the Food Bank of Delaware, seals a product bag at the Food Bank in Milford, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.

Despite his age, Williamson volunteered throughout the entire pandemic, even when fear struck many during the lockdown period.

As the need went up, he knew that the work wasn't going to do itself.

"It was a weird time," Williamson said. "But it doesn't seem like the need ever decreases. It's kind of a sad statement."

Dave Snyder

David Snyder, a volunteer for three and a half years at the Food Bank of Delaware, reaches for the tape in the volunteer room of the Food Bank in Milford, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
David Snyder, a volunteer for three and a half years at the Food Bank of Delaware, reaches for the tape in the volunteer room of the Food Bank in Milford, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.

Another long-standing volunteer at the Milford location is Dave Snyder, who has donated his time to the bank for three years, beginning during the pandemic.

Snyder, who declined to provide his age but described himself as a "senior citizen," is also a retired member of the Delaware community looking to fill his time.

Snyder lives in Lincoln with his two dogs, Gunner and Apollo, who are both rescues. Prior to his time at the food bank, he volunteered at a Delaware SPCA, where he cared for dogs, but stopped during the pandemic as protocols were put in place.

Both Williamson and Snyder mentioned one of their biggest reasons for volunteering: socializing with the others who donate their time and creating those relationships.

David Snyder, a volunteer for three and a half years at the Food Bank of Delaware, organizes canned goods in the volunteer room of the Food Bank in Milford, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
David Snyder, a volunteer for three and a half years at the Food Bank of Delaware, organizes canned goods in the volunteer room of the Food Bank in Milford, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.

"I'm not married, no kids, and I live with my two dogs, and that's my family," Snyder said. "My circumstances are such that I can ... when you retire, you don't want to just sit."

Snyder is another who has been a part of the backpack kit initiative, too. His Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are spent in the green volunteer room packing up kits for children.

"A lot of kids get subsidized lunches, and of course, there's no school on the weekend," Snyder said. "It serves a purpose."

David Snyder, a volunteer for three and a half years at the Food Bank of Delaware, assembles a food box in the volunteer room of the Food Bank in Milford, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
David Snyder, a volunteer for three and a half years at the Food Bank of Delaware, assembles a food box in the volunteer room of the Food Bank in Milford, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.

Two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners are in the kit: made to get one child through the weekend. Snyder and Williamson are just two of the volunteers who make these at the Milford location every single week.

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Jill Fredel

Jill Fredel started volunteering at the food bank almost two decades ago in 2005. Once a hobby for her and her sister, Fredel kept the tradition going even after her sibling's death in 2010.

"I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin," said Fredel, who is from Bear. "And when you grow up on a farm, you think no one should go hungry."

Fredel gives back to the Delaware community through more than just the food bank; she's also on the board of atTAcK Addiction, a job coach to a former colleague and serves on a kidney transplant board after donating her kidney to her sister in 2008.

Recently retired, Fredel describes it as a "life well-lived."

Jill Fredel, one of the Food Bank of Delaware's longest-standing volunteers, loads up a cart as a part of the organization's curbside pickup initiative.
Jill Fredel, one of the Food Bank of Delaware's longest-standing volunteers, loads up a cart as a part of the organization's curbside pickup initiative.

"My parents taught us that when you're blessed, as I have been all my life, it's important to give back," Fredel said.

During the pandemic, Fredel saw the need increase and volunteers decrease, leading to her recruiting her own friends to help donate their time. As a state Department of Health and Social Services employee before her retirement, Fredel knew how to keep herself safe, but also how much the community needed help.

"There just weren't enough hands around at that point, especially early in the pandemic," Fredel said.

Glasgow's location offers the opportunity for volunteers to interact with those coming to the food bank, as one of their main initiatives is bringing food curbside to people in shopping carts.

One of her favorite parts of the job is greeting those coming to the food bank for resources with a smile and thanking them when they leave.

Jill Fredel is one of the Food Bank of Delaware's longest-standing volunteers.
Jill Fredel is one of the Food Bank of Delaware's longest-standing volunteers.

"Sometimes you build a rapport with people," Fredel said. "I thank them for coming because ... sometimes it's hard to ask for help."

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Fredel also mentioned the socialization factor of volunteering and how beneficial it's been for her.

"I am just moved by how grateful they are for everything that the food bank provides them," she said.

Now, 63-year-old Fredel's and her sister's names are on a plaque at the Glasgow location, done to memorialize her late sister.

Jill Fredel is one of the Food Bank of Delaware's longest-standing volunteers. Fredel and her late sister, Ellen, are permanently on a plaque located at the Glasgow location.
Jill Fredel is one of the Food Bank of Delaware's longest-standing volunteers. Fredel and her late sister, Ellen, are permanently on a plaque located at the Glasgow location.

"This is incredibly important to have this in the community," Fredel said. "And that's the reward we get as volunteers.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Food Bank of Delaware relies on these long-serving volunteers