Food Bank delivery service helps young urban family survive
December 10, 2021
When Kasey realized that she and her family had hit a rough patch in their lives, she did some internet research looking for support services. “I’m not embarrassed. When I need help, I ask for help, and when I can, I help others. I not ashamed,” she said. That’s why she reached out to the Food Bank of Delaware after her research led to our home delivery service.
Kasey and her family – her husband and two young sons, ages 18 months and 4 years old – live in center city Wilmington. Their home is located in what could be described as a food desert; there’s limited access to affordable food. While the nearest grocery story is just 5-7 minutes away, it’s not easily accessible for her family. Another supermarket nearby was more convenient, but that closed due to frequent criminal activity. Corner stores, she explained, are too expensive. Kasey says she can put her children in a double stroller, but walking to the store is neither safe nor easy. Plus, there’s the additional challenge of carrying groceries home.
She tried using Uber, but the fees cut into her limited food budget, and sometimes the wait time for a car became hours rather than minutes.
Kasey’s family relies on her husband’s disability check supplemented by food stamps and WIC benefits. Prior to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, she worked as a nanny – a job where she could bring her children along. Her employer became unemployed, and as a result that family no longer could afford her services. Because of health concerns related to COVID-19, Kasey said she is reluctant to put her children in a child-care center.
“Now we’re on a fixed income, and having enough food to last a month was a problem. I have two active boys, and they can eat,” she said. “This (the Food Bank box delivered to her door) is amazing. I was worried about food, but I’m a mom so I have to figure this out. I know it will be OK. We’ll get it together.”
To learn more about ways the Food Bank of Delaware can help, please click here.
