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Food Bank of Delaware Milford branch readies for expansion

The Food Bank of Delaware is expanding downstate.

The Swank Family Foundation recently donated $356,000 to support the Food Bank’s Milford branch expansion.

“We’re thrilled," said Cathy Kanefsky, the Food Bank’s new CEO and president. "We actually just received approval from the Milford City Council to move forward on this project. And we are preparing to build a new site. So the Food Bank in Milford is across the street basically - from where we're going to be building a very new state-of-the-art building.”

Kanefsky says the new 3,000-square-foot building will be built on an 11.5-acre property in Independence Common Business Park off of Delaware Veterans Boulevard.

 

"What is actually really, really exciting for us is the fact that we’ll be situated on this beautiful property in a park that has already been populated by three other organizations that provide “hope” and “healing” for families," said Kanefsky. "We’re going to be right across the street from the Veterans home, right across the way from the Boys and Girls’ Club and then situated in the back of the park is the Hospice Center.”

 

The Food Bank's new building will house the Food Bank’s Healthy Pantry Center, with plans to add a 60,000-square-foot warehouse and workforce training space at a later date.

Construction on the Healthy Pantry Center starts later this year with plans to open in early 2022. Kanefsky says it cost $460,000 to acquire just the land for the project.

The Food Bank of Delaware has distributed over 20-million-pounds of food to First State residents in need since the pandemic began. In a typical year, the Food Bank distributes eight to 10-million-pounds of food.

 

Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.