MILFORD, Del. - Perdue's Milford facility donated 40,000 pounds of chicken to the Food Bank of Delaware in Milford on Wednesday in honor of Hunger Action Month.
In attendance was President and CEO of the Food Bank of Delaware, Cathy Kanefsky, Director of Operations for Perdue's Milford Facility, Edgardo Torres, and Director of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs for the State of Delaware, Nikko Brady.
Kanefsky says the partnership helps fight against food insecurity in Delaware.
"We know that one in seven Delawareans is food insecure, which means they don't know where their next meal is going to come from. One in five are children."
"To think we have that many people in our great state that are hiding in the pockets that we might not know about that don't have food to put on their table and don't know that they are going to have breakfast tomorrow," said Kanefsky.
Torres told CoastTV that the partnership just makes sense. "I think that our goals and mission are aligned."
Torres said Perdue set an ambitious goal this year, to donate 400,000 pounds of protein along the East Coast. Perdue delivered a truck loaded with 17 pallets stacked with boxes of chicken to the food bank.
In addition to the donation of protein, Perdue gifted the food bank a $25,000 check for their Backpack Program.
Members with Perdue and the Food Bank of Delaware take a picture with the $25,000 check Perdue gifted to the food bank.
"Well, I think that we don't see it as taking on an extra step," said Torres. "It is just part of our commitment with the food bank and with the people in the community where we live and work."
Volunteers from Perdue helped package some of the food for that program which includes milk, cereal, Chef Boyardee, fruit cups and a snack.
Apple Jacks Cereal at the Food Bank of Delaware in Milford.
Both organizations said their service to the community wouldn't be possible without people like James Jackson.
Jackson is a truck driver for the food bank. He says he understands the importance of this getting this food out into the community.
"You see everything. You see smiles, you get cries, you get a little bit of everything. You get the full feel of the community."
Jackson says serving the community is truly a group effort. "People behind the scenes are very important. They make the dream come true, we just follow suit and we get the job done."
He told CoastTV that people in the community are becoming familiar with the effort they put in.
"We're giving back tremendously because our lines are growing," said Jackson. That means the word is getting out that we're giving out good food."
In the end, everyone expressed that they shared a passion for service and President and CEO of the Food Bank of Delaware shares her one hope about the people that she serves.
"They're the people that we are hoping have hope for tomorrow because we're here," said Kanefsky.