Food Bank of Delaware15 Garfield Way
Newark, DE 19713(302) 292-1309
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION:March 5, 2014 Sean Carey
PR Student (433)-566-4509 [email protected]
Misunderstanding the Delaware Food Bank’s function and benefactors contributes to one-fourth of the population utilizing feeding programsSeizing the Food Bank of Delaware’s volunteer opportunity this summer
helps resolve the ongoing crisisNewark, Del. (March 5, 2014) —Twenty-five percent of Delaware’s population, approximately
242,000 people, requires non-profit institution’s food assistance such as schools, churches, and
traditional “soup kitchens”: the Food Bank of Delaware (FBD) serves as a distribution center for
these non-profits. The FBD’s benefactors fumble with unfortunate living situations such as food
scarcity, and volunteers assisting the FBD contribute to their relief, especially in summer
months.
The staff and volunteers distribute food donations to non-profit institutions, and do not hand
out food to individuals like a “soup kitchen”. The FBD receives fewer volunteers than it requires
to operate efficiently, despite the organization’s impressive spread of generosity.
“It’s difficult to recruit people when there are so many misconceptions about who they’re
helping,” said Kim Turner, Communications Director of the FBD. “Many people don’t think
food insecure individuals are struggling or hardworking. They think they’re lazy and abusing
government welfare benefits, and, therefore, undeserving.”
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Summer Volunteer Opportunity – page 2 of 2
The FBD defines food insecure as lacking the ability to access food for at least seven months
of the year. Turner rectified this misconception with Delaware Department of Health and Social
Services (DHSS) Senior Social Worker, Letisha’s story. Letisha survived domestic violence and,
similar to people the FBD provides for (families, children, and elderly), had hit a rough patch in
her life. Letisha completely depended upon food benefits, but since acquired two Masters
Degrees towards her career in social services and helps others overcome similar challenges.
Various successful individuals have acknowledged to receiving government-sponsored food aid,
from the liberal Barack Obama to the conservative Paul Ryan.
The local Delawarean community donates an ample supply of canned goods, meats, and
produce. The FBD must receive considerable donations to provide for a quarter million people.
However, the FBD’s lack of volunteers in the warehouses becomes an issue in the summer
months when some free food distributing centers close down, such as local schools.
The Food Bank of Delaware needs the community’s support this summer, given the higher
demand. “We are looking for as many volunteers as possible. Volunteers can qualify at seven-
years-old with adult accompaniment, and sixteen without” Turner emphasized. The volunteers’
responsibilities include preparing thousands of sandwiches, organizing and packaging donations,
and recording the amount of shipments per distribution site. This summer, the Delaware
community could seize a grand opportunity to fill the empty stomachs of the struggling food
insecure with their full hearts.
The Food Bank of Delaware receives food from various sources and redistributes it to nonprofit agencies that provide free food to the hungry. The FBD hopes to resolve problems of hunger and poverty through community education and advocacy with the support of a cumulative 50,000 volunteers in the past and a goal to distribute 100,000 lbs. of food by February 28th. For more information regarding the volunteering contact [email protected] , call 1-(302)-292-1309 and visit www.fbd.org
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Sean Carey
COMM309: Food Bank Justification Paper
February 7, 2014
Our media release intends to inform journalist of a newsworthy story on the Food Bank
of Delaware using a local and surprising approach. We decided Wednesday, March 5, 2014 as
the release date because Wednesdays are typically less busy days for journalists and, therefore,
are a common day for journalists to search for newsworthy stories. Also, students looking for
volunteer opportunities for the summer would begin their search in March.
The title shockingly lures in the reader because it emphasizes the purpose of the release,
but omits enough to leave a journalist wanting more information. The subheading offers the
solution to the crisis described in the title, in essence the interaction of the two summarize the
message. The five W’s and H are also answered in the title and subheading, and expanded upon
in the opening paragraph.
The first few lines repeat the purpose and clarify the “misunderstandings” proposed in the
title: the concept of the Food Bank of Delaware. The second paragraph informs the journalist or
reader how this institution operates but iterates the issue of lack of volunteers, even though the
FDB provides such a humble service. This brings awareness to the issues at hand, and indirectly
implies a good will institution, such as the FBD, deserves more help. The entirety of these few
sentences summarizes the media release objective.
The quote is controversial because it explains the second “misunderstanding”, which is
the well fed population’s tendency to stigmatize the food insecure. This creates somewhat of an
emotional attachment with the issue at bay. Kim Turner’s position in the organization appears
within the quote, giving the words some credibility and ties them directly to the FBD. Food
insecure is then defined clearly in the first sentence of the next paragraph so that the audience
understands the terminology.
The following paragraph retells the story of Letisha: a woman who used to be dependent
on food assistance and in a rough situation. Letisha’s overcoming this obstacle and pursuing her
career in helping people with similar problems fortifies Kim Turner’s quote from the previous
paragraph. The audience can understand now that many of the food insecure are indeed
hardworking and deserving of help, which is further proven with the reference to Barack Obama
and Paul Ryan in the following sentence.
The next paragraph simply serves as a transition from talking about the donations and
those who receive them to our solution to the problem. The solution resides in the community’s
active participation in volunteering for the Food Bank this summer. We then clearly defined the
role of a volunteer for the FBD so the audience understands their responsibilities. The media
release closes with a clever, inspiring comparison to the FBD’s service to the hungry by saying
the community can distribute their love to those in need by volunteering.
Our boiler plate repeats a few key purposes of the Food Bank of Delaware and how it
operates. We included past statistics of volunteers and the upcoming goal of the FBD so that
readers understand their ongoing planning procedure. We provided contact information as the
final cap in the boiler plate.