Delaware’s First Lady - Tracey Quillen Carney - recently recognized individuals and groups helping feed kids during the coronavirus pandemic.
Quillen Carney launched the “First Chance Delaware” initiative in 2018 to highlight effective partnerships, research and best practices that support Delaware children.
“It’s been an evolution really ever since John (Carney) took office as governor. And I was trying to think through what I might like to do while I have the platform of First Lady. And I knew what I wanted to do was help children,” Quillen Carney said.
She notes that part of that effort focuses on addressing childhood hunger and expanding access to nutritious food for low-income children.
Quillen Carney says she never imagined that children statewide would suddenly need new ways to be fed when the pandemic closed school buildings from mid-March through June,
“People had to get very creative, very quickly," said Quillen Carney. "I do believe that our school-based nutrition programs are our first lines of defense against childhood hunger. So when schools closed, there was immediate concern about how we were going to keep these kids fed.”
Quillen Caney notes many of the “First Chance” award recipients are Delaware’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors that helped coordinate sites where families could pick up meals for children while they quarantined at home.
The 30 “First Chance” award recipients include Janice Vander Decker with the Appoquinimink School District, Tony Windsor with the Boys and Girls Club of Delaware and Cheryle Lord-Gordon with the Cape Henlopen School District, Colleen Carter with the Brandywine School District, Mondel Powell with the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and Clifton Toomey with the Indian River School District - just to name a few.
