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Food Bank of Delaware still assisting Delawareans affected by gov't shutdown

Food Bank of Delaware

The Food Bank of Delaware anticipates assisting SNAP benefit recipients affected by the recent government shutdown.

 

February Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were issued early in Delaware on January 17 because of the government shutdown.

That means some will not receive their next set of benefits until mid-or late March, creating a “SNAP gap” of up to one month.

Food Bank spokeswoman Kim Turner that’s where her organization comes in.

“So as always, our network of partners stand ready to support any Delawarean who is need of food assistance to locate a Pantry in their community; they simply dial 211 and a helpline operator will refer them to a pantry that can assist,” said Turner.

 

The longest government shutdown in the nation’s history added some federal workers to the ranks of people needing help getting food for their families.

“We did open our warehouse in Newark and Milford to federal workers seeking assistance. We did see an uptick in people visiting the Food Bank, people who, quite frankly, had never needed help before, going to a food pantry or food bank for the first time in their lives,” Turner said.

Turner says to help meet the continuing demand, the Food Bank will host three mobile pantries: at Crossroad Community Church in Georgetown on February 8th; at Calvary Church in Dover on February 15th and at Canaan Baptist Church in New Castle on February 22nd. 

All the distributions begin at 11 a.m. and Turner says everyone is asked to bring their EBT card in order to receive assistance.

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