Food Bank of Delaware The Food Bank of Delaware just released a report outlining the issue of hunger throughout the state of Delaware. Listed below are some statistics from the study. The rest of the report can be read here. Hunger in America 2010:Local Report Prepared for The Food Bank of Delaware January 2010

Among all client households served by emergency food programs of The Food Bank of Delaware, 72% are food insecure, according to the U.S. government’s official food security scale. This includes client households who have low food security and those who have very low food security.

33% of clients served by The Food Bank of Delaware report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel.

21% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage.

32% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care.

22% had to choose between paying for food and paying for transportation.

19% had to choose between paying for food and paying for gas for a car.

72% have incomes below the federal poverty level during the previous month. 15% are homeless.

The FA system served by The Food Bank of Delaware provides emergency food for an estimated 241,600 different people annually.

About 17,500 different people receive emergency food assistance in any given week.

44% of the members of households served by The Food Bank of Delaware are children under 18 years old.

6% of the members of households are children age 0 to 5 years.

6% of the members of households are elderly.

About 19% of clients are non-Hispanic white, 71% are non-Hispanic black, 4% are Hispanic, and the rest are from other racial groups.

43% of households include at least one employed adult.

32% of the clients have very low food security.

Among households with children, 68% are food insecure and 30% are food insecure with very low food security.

51% of client households served by The Food Bank of Delaware are receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; however, it is likely that many more are eligible.

Among households with school-age children, 81% and 79%, respectively, participate in the federal school lunch and school breakfast programs.

Among households with school-age children, 32% participate in the summer food program.

The Food Bank of Delaware included approximately 167 agencies at the administration of this survey, of which 132 have responded to the agency survey. Of the responding agencies, 115 had at least one food pantry, soup kitchen, or shelter.

75% of pantries, 78% of kitchens, and 49% of shelters are run by faith-based agencies affiliated with churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious organizations.

At the agency level, 70% of agencies with at least one pantry, kitchen, or shelter and 66% of all agencies including those with other types of programs are faith- based.

As many as 92% of pantries, 87% of kitchens, and 79% of shelters in The Food Bank of Delaware use volunteers.

Many programs rely entirely on volunteers; 70% of pantry programs and 49% of kitchens have no paid staff at all.
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