By Anitra Johnson
Lawmakers, community partners team up to distribute food
Delaware lawmakers and community partners held a conference outside the Walnut Street YMCA for a food distribution on Nov. 6, 2025.
- Delaware lawmakers and community partners hosted food distribution events to help families facing food insecurity.
- An artificial intelligence company, r4 Technologies, donated 10,000 pounds of surplus fresh food for the events.
- Delaware is the first state to pilot the Smart Food app, which helps reduce food waste and stretch SNAP benefits.
As the federal government shutdown continues to disrupt food assistance programs, Delaware lawmakers and community partners are stepping in to help thousands of families facing food insecurity.
Nearly 120,000 Delaware residents rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. With federal funding in limbo, local organizations are scrambling to fill the gap. In response, Sen. Darius Brown and House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown partnered with the YMCA of Delaware, the Smart Food Foundation, r4 Technologies and Sharing Excess to host two food distribution events on Nov. 6.
Held at the Walnut Street YMCA in Wilmington and the Bear-Glasgow YMCA, the events distributed fresh produce and other nutritious foods to families in need. The effort is part of a growing statewide initiative to address food insecurity during Delaware’s declared State of Emergency.
‘Access to food is a right’
During a press conference at the Walnut Street YMCA, lawmakers and community leaders called for continued collaboration between government nonprofits and the private sector.
Delaware Sen. Darius Brown and House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown stand at the podium during press conference held before a free food distribution on Nov. 6, 2025. Anitra Johnson/Delaware News Journal
“Access to food is a right, it is not a privilege,” Brown said. “When we enter periods of crisis, it is imperative that we band together as a community to help one another and ensure no child, no senior citizen, and no working parent goes hungry.”
Minor-Brown echoed those sentiments, emphasizing that the effects of the shutdown will linger even after federal operations resume and highlighting efforts underway to ease the impact.
“We’re working every day to ensure that Delawareans have food access,” Minor-Brown said. “We’re working to support our farmers. We’re working to support our grocers and to make sure that no child in this state goes to bed hungry,”
She added that the event was about more than distributing food – it was about community: “We’re saying that we see you, we value you.”
Lawmakers also thanked r4 Technologies, an artificial intelligence company, for donating 10,000 pounds of fresh food that might otherwise have gone to waste.
“There is enough food, if we can align industry and government to make that possible,” said David Bradley, executive vice president of r4 Technologies. “And that’s our mission.”
The company’s AI platform identifies surplus food sources and redirects them to reach families in need. The company’s Smart Food Program, developed in collaboration with Delaware officials, connects consumers and retailers through a mobile app.
Bradley, a guest speaker at the press conference, explained how the company is leveraging AI technology to reduce food waste and improve fresh food access.
“Forty percent of the food that’s produced in this country goes to waste somewhere in the supply chain,” Bradley said. “Millions of pounds of otherwise perfectly edible chicken and produce end up as waste when they could have gone to a Meals on Wheels kitchen or to a retailer through a program like ours.”
Bradley emphasized that the ongoing government shutdown has intensified the nation’s long-standing challenges around equitable food distribution. What was once a persistent issue, he said, has now escalated into an urgent crisis underscoring the need for innovation and stronger coordination between private industry and public policy.
David Bradley, executive vice president at r4 Technologies, was a guest speaker at a food giveaway at the Walnut Street YMCA in Wilmington on Nov. 6, 2025. The company’s Smart Food program diverts food in the supply chain from being wasted. The company donated 10,000 lbs of food for the event. Anitra Johnson/Delaware News Journal
Founded by the same team behind Priceline, r4 Technologies built a network that sources surplus food and makes it available at low prices through a mobile app to people relying on government assistance.
“The Smart Food program actually operates under the authority of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP,” Bradley said.
Announced in July 2024, the Smart Food program grew out of the Biden-Harris’ White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities. The initiative is a public-private partnership between the State of Delaware and technology leaders, making Delaware the first state to pilot the app. The program is designed to help families hit hardest by economic challenges stretch their SNAP benefits and put more food on the table.
