Credit to: CoastTV, Alyssa Baker
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Photo: Bennett Orchards
Bennett Orchards has received a $53,999 grant through a Delaware program designed to improve access to healthy, affordable food in communities with limited grocery options.
The sixth-generation family farm, which has been growing fruit in Delaware since 1867, was one of 28 recipients selected during the spring 2026 funding round of the Delaware Grocery Initiative and First State Food System Grant Program.
The Delaware Division of Small Business presented a ceremonial check at Bennett Orchards, located at 31442 Peachtree Lane, on Aug. 17. Division Director CJ Bell and state Sen. Darius Brown attended the presentation.
Bennett Orchards plans to use the funding to continue research into ways to protect fruit crops from damaging spring frosts.
The farm previously studied the effectiveness of a wind machine in protecting its peach crop. According to Bennett Orchards, peaches grown near the machine showed differences compared with fruit from trees outside its immediate area.
Temperatures below 28 degrees can significantly reduce or even eliminate a fruit crop's yield, Henry Bennett explained. Wind machines are permanently installed in orchards and work by circulating warmer air from above with colder air closer to the ground.
Building on its peach research, Bennett Orchards will now install a wind machine in a portion of its blueberry acreage. The farm will study whether the technology can limit frost damage and ultimately increase blueberry yields.
Bennett said the farm is optimistic that the research will help it provide more peaches and higher-quality blueberries to the surrounding community.
The Delaware Division of Small Business says the grant program supports projects that increase access to nutritious, affordable food in communities considered food deserts or at risk of becoming food deserts.
Funding was available to a variety of participants in Delaware's food system, including farmers, independent and community grocery stores, businesses offering culturally diverse foods, food banks, food pantries and other organizations involved in the food supply chain.
The 28 recipients selected in the spring funding round received a combined $712,500, with individual grants ranging from $12,000 to $65,000.
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