This is the first in a series of stories highlighting community organizations that partner with the University of Delaware to improve the lives of Delawareans. An exemplary academic-community partnership is one that responds to a community-identified need through a reciprocal relationship. These partner spotlights are intended to illustrate the ideals of community engagement in action.
UD and the Food Bank of Delaware partner to nourish the community
The Food Bank of Delaware was founded in 1981 with the goal of feeding the hungry. Since then, its core mission has remained the same, but the need and the vision have grown.
Through the years, the University of Delaware has collaborated with the Food Bank in many ways, from Parking Services’ annual canned food drive, to food rescue from University dining halls, to more established projects with academic and extension partners.
“Having [the University’s] pool of expertise and students has been incredibly valuable to the Food Bank,” said Kim Turner, vice president of communications at the Food Bank. “And the community partnership … it’s always been a two-way street.”
Turner, one of many UD alumni among the organization’s staff, first worked with the Food Bank as a UD student more than 15 years ago. Now, she and other staff members look to the University’s student body for volunteers and support.
“Having a source of young people who are enthusiastic, who we can introduce our mission to, is important,” she said.
The Food Bank of Delaware serves all three Delaware counties from two locations in Newark and Milford, and through a network of local partners like food pantries, soup kitchens, schools, and shelters. In addition to providing pantry staples, shelf-stable foods and fresh produce, the Food Bank hosts culinary training programs and educational workshops.
UD’s Cooperative Extension contracts with the Food Bank to provide nutrition education as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) program.
“We’re coming together to think about solutions to some of the challenges that exist in both the emergency food system … [and] the food system at large,” Extension Specialist Gina Crist said. “We’re at the table, planning together and coming together.”
In 2019, Shannon Robson, associate professor in Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences, started teaching the course Nutrition Program Planning and Evaluation, which she structures as a community partnership. Robson, who volunteered at the Food Bank as a UD student, worked with staff members to determine what needs-assessment work the class could do for the organization. Most recently, students set out to survey how the Food Bank might be more culturally responsive to its clients. The students presented their findings to Food Bank staff in May, and the data is also being used to inform the work of the SNAP-Ed program.
“It’s one thing to talk about populations who are food insecure,” Robson said. “It’s another thing to work with them … and realize maybe some biases we may or may not have in that engagement piece.”
Small Farm and Gardening Expertise
UD Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardeners program has a long-standing partnership with the Food Bank of Delaware.
Master Gardeners and Food Bank growers have partnered to engage the public in gardening education, designing the Food Bank’s Newark community education garden to show visitors a variety of ways to grow food at home.
“They were very careful to think about what we were already doing,” said Extension Agent Carrie Murphy. “What could we do that would complement what’s already being done?”
The community education garden now hosts visitors from many ages and backgrounds, including those who may not have home gardens, to teach them about the sources of what they eat, Turner said.
Master Gardeners have led programs like seed starting and composting workshops at the Food Bank’s five-acre farm. Farm staff and Cooperative Extension agricultural specialists will also confer on best practices.
“Farming is a community endeavor,” said Kyle Brolis, the Food Bank’s agricultural programs director and current fellow with LEADelaware, a partnership between UD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Delaware Department of Agriculture.
“I personally didn’t grow up on a farm,” said Brolis. “So, I learn through the wisdom of others. It’s really remarkable how growers want to pay it forward just because we’ve all benefited from that.”
Growing in Milford
In January of this year, the Food Bank’s Milford location moved from a 16,000-square-foot warehouse into a new 70,000-square-foot facility, which increases its capacity to serve Delawareans in Kent and Sussex counties.
“It’s expanding community trust,” said Crist. “I have seen and heard more about [Food Bank staff] being at tables in Sussex, talking to community members and really thinking about solutions to better get the food where it needs to go.”
The new location also includes a three-and-a-half-acre garden, which will contribute to the fresh produce made available to the community under the management of Caroline May, community garden manager and UD alumna.
The statewide Master Gardeners are poised to engage with the local community through the Milford facility.
“There’s this continued opportunity to tap into the various communities that we’re both serving, to broaden our reach and get the information to the folks who are seeking it out,” said Murphy. “That will continue to grow and develop.”