28 organizations and businesses receive funding to expand access to healthy and affordable food

The most recent round of funding from the Delaware Grocery Initiative and First State Food System Program sends more than $700,000 in grants to over two dozen organizations and businesses.

The program seeks to expand access to healthy, affordable food in Delaware communities currently identified as food deserts or at risk of becoming one.

The grants were available to farmers, independent and community grocery retailers, food banks, food pantries and other food supply chain businesses and organizations.

The 28 organizations selected came from a pool of 100 applicants. $712,500 was awarded in this round with grants ranging from $12,000 to $65,000.

Kim Turner is vice president of communications for the Food Bank of Delaware which received $25,000 to expand its Food Rescue Program into western Kent and Sussex County.

"Through that program, we pick up food from local retailers that might otherwise end up in a landfill but still perfectly good food to eat. So we send a truck or a van or one of our partner agencies out to that retailer, and we pick up the food and then we're able to distribute it to our neighbors in need," said Turner.

The grants - distributed evenly across all three counties - support a variety of projects, such as cold storage expansion, fresh produce distribution and farm infrastructure.

Turner says this funding is extremely important for all of the organizations.

"There's a lot of uncertainty out there right now whether that's with government funding, private funding and then just add-on the economic uncertainty,” said Turner. “There's a lot less people that might be able to donate their money or their food, because they're keeping an eye on their checkbook at home."

The projects funded in this round must be completed by the end of the year.
The full list of recipients is below.