Fresh and Ready Meals

CHEER partners with Sussex County In Creative New Program Offering “Fresh And Ready” Meals

On October 1, the Sussex County Kitchen Incubator launched the Feeding Every Delawarean program, which will partner local food entrepreneurs with CHEER to produce and distribute meals throughout the community. Members of the Incubator, which serves as a commercial kitchen for small operators to create and sell their goods, will supply the meals at cost to CHEER, which will then make them available at their senior activity centers throughout Sussex County. The public can stop by to purchase a meal as well.

To make the program possible, the Kitchen Incubator, managed by the County’s Economic Development office, is using a $12,500 grant from the Delaware Grocery Initiative, an effort to boost programs throughout the state aimed at eliminating ‘food deserts’, or areas that have been identified as lacking access to affordable, healthy options, particularly to fruits and vegetables. Many of the senior citizens in Sussex County live in areas like the ones the grant was designed to serve.

“I knew that we had this great commercial kitchen and a team of passionate culinary experts with our incubator, and I saw an opportunity to help solve a community problem,” said Sussex County Economic Development Director Andrew D. Harton, who developed the program and submitted the grant application. “Our incubator members know how to make great food, but we needed a strong partner that could be an outlet, and we found that in CHEER. This is like pairing two great, complementary dishes together for one satisfying meal.”

Meals are packaged in reheatable containers and are available for purchase at any CHEER senior activity center for only $6 between 8 AM and 4 PM.

The first chef is Diane Corsi from “What’s Cooking, Di?“.
What’s Cooking, Di? is a meal prep, catering and delivery service centered in Rehoboth.  She is the owner & chef/cook.

Diane grew up making meals for family and friends and started “What’s Cooking, Di? as her passion business a year ago. She is grateful to be able to share her meals and help support the program.  Her love for cooking is the secret ingredient in every dish.

Learn more about Diane at whatscookingdi.com/.

For more information on the Kitchen Incubator and the Feeding Every Delawarean (FED) program, visit www.sussexkitchende.com.