Jesse Vanderwende

A local farmer and businessman, State Rep. Jesse Vanderwende represents the rural 35th District. A Sussex County native, he graduated from Woodbridge High School and earned an associate degree in Agribusiness from Delaware Technical and Community College. Born in 1987, Rep. Vanderwende is one of the General Assembly’s youngest members. However, his history of public service and community leadership belies his youth. He is a former president and current member of the Bridgeville Kiwanis Club; a former president of the Delaware Soybean Board; and a former president and present member of the Sussex County Farm Bureau. He also sits on the Delaware State Fair Board of Directors. The Vanderwende Family raises chickens and cultivates watermelons, grains, sweet corn and peas on approximately 4,000 acres in the Greenwood-Bridgeville area. They also run a dairy operation, milking a herd of 250 Holsteins. Jesse is perhaps best known for his co-ownership and management of Vanderwende’s Farm Fresh Ice Cream, a retail and wholesale ice cream business with locations in Bridgeville, Greenwood and Dewey Beach. As one of the few active farmers in the Delaware General Assembly, Rep. Vanderwende has…