Over 200 Military Families Served at Memorial Day Food Distribution
For many military families, the cost of living in San Diego makes buying groceries a struggle. Last week, Feeding San Diego held a Memorial Day food distribution at North Terrace Elementary School to support local military families ahead of the long weekend. With the help of school staff, volunteers distributed nutritious food to over 200 military families who live on Camp Pendleton. This distribution is part of Feeding San Diego’s Feeding Heroes initiative, seeking to serve and support military families and veterans when they face hard times. During the distribution, we spoke to some of the families visiting about the unique challenges they face.
A uniformed volunteer hands out food at the Memorial Day food distribution
Filling in the Gaps for Families in Need
In the distribution line, we met Gabriela. She is a military spouse who works at North Terrace Elementary.
“People think, ‘Wow, you guys get paid a lot.’ No, our spouses don’t, and sometimes we have to get a job also to help out,” Gabriela shared. “My husband is stationed here, so we live on Camp Pendleton. When paychecks are long, it’s harder, so this does help. I think it’s an amazing thing what you guys are doing here, and it does help military families like myself.”
Gabriela, a military spouse who lives on Camp Pendleton
We also met Steve and Judith, a young couple whose two-year-old slept through the distribution in the backseat. Steve received orders back in 2019 that brought them to San Diego.
Steve and Judith, a military family living on base
“We moved from North Carolina, so in comparison, the cost of living is quite a jump. It’s really expensive here,” Steve explained. “The military can adjust you a little bit on the pay, on the BAH [Basic Allowance for Housing], but most of the time, it’s not enough to compensate for the move or the basic rents. So, these types of things help. We’re really thankful for the support of our troops, not only to our family but every family that has benefitted from any drives like this.”
Partnering with On Base Services
This past February, Feeding San Diego established a partnership with North Terrace Elementary School to launch a new school pantry food distribution. The school pantry program provides monthly food distributions at schools with at least 50% free or reduced-price meal data. The pantries are operated by volunteers, usually parents of students, and provide a stable source of nutrition to families.
Our service members answered the call to serve the nation. Feeding San Diego is proud to answer the call for food assistance when their families face challenging times.
By connecting to families through resources already affiliated with the military, Feeding San Diego can quickly and efficiently provide a comfortable, high-dignity experience for those in need. For this special distribution, North Terrace Elementary also invited families from Santa Margarita and Stuart Mesa Elementary Schools. The staff at North Terrace joined volunteers and parents in passing out food to families in line for the distribution.
Feeding San Diego volunteers and North Terrace Elementary parents work together to distribute food.
Feeding Heroes
San Diego hosts one of the largest concentrations of veterans and military personnel in the world. In fact, over 37% of the population has direct ties to the military. Many military families receive orders to move to San Diego and find themselves confronted with the reality of a high cost of living. Record-high gas prices and a soaring inflation rate mean San Diego families, military and civilian, are struggling with difficult choices.
Feeding San Diego is honored to be able to support military families and veterans through its Feeding Heroes program.
