The Food Bank of Delaware receives a $100,000 grant to help provide financial coaching and address housing instability.

The grant money will go toward the Food Bank’s work with Delaware’s “Stand By Me” program.

Anna McDermott is the Food Bank’s Chief Impact Officer.

“Stand By Me is a financial coaching program, and there’s no income requirements, though most of the clients that we work with are low income,” she said. “The purpose of the program is to help Delawareans achieve their financial goals, and many times it is securing a home.”

McDermott says that it’s a natural fit for the Food Bank to be focusing on housing as well because food insecurity is often an indicator of other financial stressors and because housing costs are usually the biggest part of any family’s expenses.

“As a food bank, we have really looked at ways that we could help support people in becoming more economically mobile, becoming more financially stable in order to hopefully long term move them away from food insecurity,” McDermott said.

The $100,000 grant comes to the Food Bank of Delaware from Feeding America, That organization estimates that some 120,000 Delawareans – about 12% of the population – are food insecure.