Welcome to the August Newsletter! The dog days of Summer are upon us and pretty soon we will be shopping for *gasp* school supplies! But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s thank our fabulous team of donors and volunteers for their exceptional work in the month of July. 

As we continue to refine the way we report our details every month, I want to take a moment to thank our many partners who provide us with the raw produce and dry goods that go into our meals, but also the monetary donations and grants that have helped us expand our services to so many in need. It is very important to us that we show you where exactly everything comes from because this information might help you identify ways to curb waste in your own home or community. I also want to highlight how much rescued food we process and how much we have grown over the past year. 

In the month of July, $5689 worth of product contributions were received and processed by our team of volunteers, creating and delivering 1629 meals with the estimated total value of food distributed coming in at $6975.

In case you were wondering how much more that is than August of 2022, I was inspired to create a handy graphic of Meals Delivered:

From April to August of 2022, we delivered a total of 2557 meals. From April to August of 2023, we have delivered 5921 meals. That is an absolutely astounding 131% increase, and there are several factors to thank for it. First, is our Kitchen Expansion grant from Delaware Community Foundation which allowed us to expand our prep area as well as upgrade our kitchen appliances and pantry spaces. Construction wrapped up just before April which is why I chose to isolate the monthly data beginning from that point. Additional help from our volunteer Chef Scott has allowed us to streamline our kitchen management, and additional contributors such as Epworth UMC provide us with more goods to process. And finally, additional need in the community is being addressed with partners such as the Springboard Collaborative and CRC assisting more clients than ever with the help of our meal deliveries.

Thank you to all of our volunteers and donors who help make a difference every day. It’s hard work, but it’s working.

“You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That’s how prayer works.”
-Pope Francis

Community Spotlight

West Side Beginnings, Inc.
West Rehoboth Children & Youth Program
 

We are so proud of our new partnership with West Side Beginnings, Inc. Youth Program! Since 2002 when they began with youth mentorship classes, the WRCYP’s after-school and Summer programs have been widely recognized at both the state and local levels for their accomplishments. Their many supportive programs provide a safe and nurturing learning environment for local underserved students including: Cultural Enhancement field trips, literacy intervention, volunteer opportunities, and generally giving these young people a better chance to succeed in the world around them. Their mission is to offer wider horizons for the children of West Rehoboth. 

“We tell our children where they live does not dictate what they will become, and other people do not decide their future. They decide their own habits; then their habits decide what their future holds,” says Program Director Diaz Bonville, “the WRCYP team works to make the impossible possible by expanding young minds.”

For more information or to donate visit their Facebook page here, or contact Diaz Bonville at 302-528-2265 or Diaz122455@aol.com.

EPS BANNED! Senate Bill 51 Passes the Delaware Legislature & Awaits Governor’s SignatureA priority for Plastic Free Delaware and more than four years in the works, Senate Bill 51 (as amended) finally won approval of both Chambers of the state legislature in late June.

Led by tireless prime sponsors, Senator Trey Paradee and Representative Paul Baumbach, and joined by Representative Sophie Phillips, SB51 bans expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) and plastic picks, as well as making plastic straws available only upon request in Delaware dining establishments. The effective date of July 1, 2025 gives restaurants who have not yet already done so plenty of time to make the shift away from EPS. Thank you to the many individuals who reached out to state legislators advocating for support on SB51. Your voices were heard. If you would like to learn more about Plastic Free Delaware and the wonderful work that they do, you can visit their website here. Way to go!

How Extreme Heat Affects Us All

It’s hot. And for farm workers without Federal protections, that can mean life or death. The workers who are disproportionately affected by heat are low-wage workers who have jobs outside and are often immigrant workers, workers of color. Some of these workers may hesitate to speak up about harsh conditions due to their immigration status, which can lead to misestimations of how bad the problem really is. “The complaint rate from agriculture workers is much lower than it is in other industries, despite the fact that we see higher fatality rates. And this is a direct result of lack of knowledge and lack of trust.” says Doug Parker, assistant secretary for Occupational Safety and Health at the Labor Department.

A Bureau of Labor Statistics study from 2011-2021 stated that an average of 43 workers died due to environmental heat each year of that particular study. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been getting hotter since then, every year, every day, just breaking records left and right.

“That’s what’s been reported but that’s historically been an undercount when it comes to heat, both in terms of deaths and heat-related illness,” Parker said of the numbers.

The state of Washington will have a permanent heat rule effective July 17. It comes after two years of temporary emergency rules were put in place due to the 2020 heat dome that affected the state. The rule would encourage “cool-down rest periods” beginning when temperatures reach 80 degrees. It specifies that employees must “be allowed and encouraged to take a preventative cool-down rest in the shade or using another means provided by the employer to reduce body temperature when they feel the need to do so to protect themselves from overheating.” There are also new rules regarding access to shade, cool drinking water, and mandatory rest periods when the temperature breaches 90 and 100 degrees. Of course, that’s great but when you’re getting paid by the pound to pick crops in the field, every minute not spent working is less money in your pocket. 

Meanwhile, Texas recently eliminated city and county ordinances for mandated water breaks. 

The rising temperatures and obvious climate emergency has led the Biden administration to move forward on one of the president’s campaign promises: creating heat protections for workers. But the rulemaking process is slow and two years later — as another heat dome causes deaths among farm workers and others — it is still not done.

As temperatures continue to climb I am left only with words from John Goodell’s bestselling book The Heat Will Kill You First:

 “When it gets too hot, things die. If they can’t find refuge, they die.”

A hotter world puts the most vulnerable at risk — the old, the sick, the poor. And that affects all of us.

Learn More:
NYT Book Review ‘The Heat Will Kill You First’

What Record-Breaking Heat Actually Means