SHARE A SECOND HELPING THIS WINTER WITH DELAWAREANS STRUGGLING TO PUT MEALS ON THE TABLE

Newark, Del. (December 13, 2013) - Anti-hunger advocates gathered this morning outside the Delaware Department of Labor's Pencader office to launch Share a Second Helping, a winter-long giving/awareness campaign. The kick-off coincided with a mobile food distribution for individuals utilizing the unemployment office.

In response to a recent $16 million dollar cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Delaware and even deeper cuts to SNAP proposed by members of the United States Congress, the Coalition to End Hunger, Food Bank of Delaware, Delaware Health and Social Services and Delaware 2-1-1 encourage Delawareans to dig a little deeper this winter season to help families struggling to make ends meet.

"A sixteen-million dollar cut to SNAP is a significant cut for already-vulnerable populations, such as our children, seniors, people with disabilities and the working poor, " said Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Patricia Beebe. "This cut is more than the entire yearly budget of the food bank. Already-strapped charitable organizations cannot fill the void of Congress' inability to come up with workable solutions to the problems associated with poverty."

DHSS Secretary Rita Landgraf said the state will work with the community to make up the gap left by the $16 million reduction to SNAP. "We have 156,000 Delawareans who receive SNAP benefits, up dramatically from the 72,000 people we served just five years ago," she said. "In a country that has so much and so much to be grateful for this holiday season, we cannot sit back as a government or as a society and, in good conscience, allow people to go hungry. Our SNAP program is meant as a safety net, and yet we know of too many families and seniors who have to decide between food or paying for their utilities, medications or paying their mortgage."

• Gather food and monetary resources to meet the immediate food needs of Delawareans during the winter months
• Educate at-risk Delawareans on available resources, including the services of Delaware 2-1-1
• Work with elected officials and stakeholders to implement long-term solutions to meet these nutritional needs through a strong federal safety net

With a campaign goal of 100,000 pounds, the Food Bank of Delaware encourages individuals, businesses, community-based organizations, schools, faith-based organizations and others to host winter-long food drives and fundraisers.

A recent study by the Food Research and Action Council shows that Delaware ranks 12th worst in the nation for food hardship amongst households with children. Witnessing firsthand these increased needs from the community, Delaware 2-1-1 fielded more than 100,000 phone calls from Delawareans in need of human services last year.

"Delaware 2-1-1 understands first-hand the basic needs of our neighbors," said Delaware 2-1-1 Director Donna Synder White. "Monthly, we receive hundreds of calls from Delawareans and for years, the Food Bank of Delaware, and others partners, have utilized our easy 2-1-1 to connect people to food closest, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, senior centers, after-school and a host of other food programs so that no individual or family in the state goes without a meal to eat."

Representative Ed Osienski and Senator Bryan Townsend were both on hand for the launch and are committed to advocating in Dover for a hunger-free state.

"If the cuts in unemployment claim extensions, which are being debated now in Washington, take affect then you'll see a reduction in lines inside the Department of Labor unemployment office move outside to the mobile food distribution lines," said Osienski. "Who will be providing the additional resources for that shift?"

"We must do more to support the many Delawareans who experience hunger on a daily basis," send Townsend. "The holidays are a time when people often rally around these efforts, and certainly we should embrace holiday spirit and generosity in November and December. But every day of the year, a Delaware senior or child experiences sharp pangs of hunger. As the U.S. Congress proposes deep cuts to critical anti-hunger programs, we must become all the more vigilant about developing the kind of programs and distribution channels to help end hunger in our state, year-round, top to bottom, from seniors to schoolchildren." Central to the campaign's advocacy component is giving Delawareans utilizing human services a voice in working to bring about systemic change.

"Share a Second Helping is not only about gathering the needed resources to get through the cold winter months, it's also about coming up with solutions to effectively end hunger and battling negative stereotypes surrounding those in need of emergency food assistance," said Coalition to End Hunger Chairwoman Julie Miro Wenger. "We are serving hard-working families, adults with disabilities, seniors who have worked their entire lives and children. We all play a role in ensuring that we meet the basic needs of families."

To learn more about Share a Second Helping, please visit www.fbd.org/share-a-second-helping/ . Information about food drives, fundraisers and advocacy can be found there. For individuals in need of emergency food assistance, please contact the Delaware 2-1-1 by simply dialing 2-1-1.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.