Local Veterans Donate Their Time to Distribute Food to the Military Community with Feeding San Diego

Bringing a community together is a privilege and honor, especially as we ease out of a global pandemic and look toward the Memorial Day holiday. Feeding San Diego is honored to partner with Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD) to bring the local military community together for a day of service. This joint effort between the two organizations recognizes those who sacrifice greatly for our country while also supporting veterans and military families who might be facing hunger.

United We Stand

On Thursday, May 27, both residents and those receiving services from Veterans Village of San Diego will volunteer their time at one of Feeding San Diego’s large-scale food distributions. This distribution will help other veterans and military families in need of food assistance. These same volunteers from VVSD also put in shifts at our distribution center to pack boxes ahead of the distribution. The boxes will be held at Pechanga Arena San Diego, just a few miles away from Veterans Village.

“Many of the folks that we serve are homeless veterans,” shares Akilah Templeton, CEO & President of VVSD. “They are people who are coming in right off the street. Not only have they experienced hunger but they have sort of been living in the shadows. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to veterans who say that participating in projects like these helps them to feel human again.”

By working together, both organizations will provide sustenance to all of the veterans, military families, and the military community who give so much for our country. It also provides an opportunity for the veterans of VVSD to give back to the community by personally packing and distributing the food to other veterans. VVSD is a local non-profit that has been serving the military community for 40 years. In addition to providing housing, the organization provides temporary financial support, oftentimes paying rent for veterans and veteran families. It also provides mental health support, substance abuse treatment, and employment services.

Giving and Getting Back

Called “Veterans Helping Veterans,” this food distribution is two-fold in serving the community because of the volunteers it supports and its outreach specifically to the military community. Feeding San Diego’s Feeding Heroes initiative is a year-round effort. It is achieved with the help of 17 non-profit partners, to address hunger for veterans and military families. The “Veterans Helping Veterans” distribution is part of this initiative.

“We’re providing some relief for veterans in the community who might be experiencing food insecurity and going through a challenging time, but we’re also helping people who were recently in these dire situations and helping them feel like they are part of the community,” says Templeton. “Maybe they can’t help financially but they’re giving their time. They get to experience what it feels like on the other end to be in the position to help. We’re hoping that there is an inspiration on both sides.”

Templeton also explained more about the unique challenges veterans face here in San Diego, “What you see with military and veteran families is that sometimes it is more difficult to bounce back. While there may be economic challenges, there are also mental health issues. Things like finding a job. We’ve seen many people lose their jobs. For the military veteran it may have been more challenging to secure that job in the first place,” she says.

“The cost of living here in San Diego is a huge challenge that many people face. There may be problems with family and the family has worked to reunify after the veteran has discharged with service. It can be a very complicated situation.”

To learn more about the work being done at Veterans Village of San Diego, visit the organization’s website.