Military Appreciation Month Spotlight: A Powerhouse Partnership Serving Military Families

Published On: May 24th, 2023By Categories: Partnerships, Resources3.3 min read

During Military Appreciation Month, we reflect on the importance of supporting military families and veterans. The sad reality is that within the military, many families go hungry. According to Feeding America, nearly a quarter (24%) of active-duty service members were food insecure in 2020. Here in San Diego County, that includes many of the 5,000 active-duty service members and their families living on Camp Pendleton. Feeding San Diego’s partner, Support The Enlisted Project (STEP), recently reached out to help address that need. They invited Feeding San Diego to join their distribution at the Marine Corps Air Station Pendleton to provide nutritious food for military families, along with other resources, like diapers and wipes.

A woman in uniform, a man wearing a Feeding San Diego polo, and a woman wearing a STEP sweatshirt at a food distribution on Camp Pendleton

Feeding San Diego and STEP staff work with volunteers from the base to pass out food

Partnering to Support the Military Community

Established in 2012, STEP’s mission is to build financial self-sufficiency among junior active-duty enlisted members and recently discharged enlisted veterans and their families. They provide counseling, education, and grants to families facing financial crises. At the start of the pandemic, STEP began hosting drive-through distributions for their clients to fill gaps in the resources they were able to afford. Initially, they mainly distributed essential items such as diapers, clothing, and shoes.

In March 2021, Feeding San Diego partnered with STEP to add fresh food to their distributions. The initial partnership served 350 households at two sites in San Diego County. Two years later, STEP and Feeding San Diego are still working together to support the military community. Feeding San Diego provides nutritious food for STEP’s warehouse distribution, including fresh produce. In addition to food, this monthly event supplies diapers, hygiene items, shoes, pajamas, books, and more to military, veterans, reservists, national guard, and their families.

Adapting to Meet a Need

In early 2023, the commanding general at Camp Pendleton reached out to STEP about establishing a distribution on base. They quickly rallied to offer a distribution of diapers, shelf-stable items, and other resources for 300 households living on Camp Pendleton. However, providing fresh produce on the base proved difficult. The base is about an hour’s drive from STEP’s Scripps Ranch warehouse. Without cold storage vehicles, they can’t transport food over that distance. As a former vice commander of the U.S. Submarine Force in the Navy, Feeding San Diego’s Chief Strategy Officer, Bob Kamensky, retains close ties to the San Diego military community. In a meeting with STEP’s team, he heard about their logistical issues and offered support.

A woman in a military uniform packing food into bags

Volunteers at Camp Pendleton bag food

“The strength of our food distribution program comes from the relationships we have across our agency network. STEP needed to supplement their primary mission of building financial self-sufficiency for military families and leveraged our ability to provide food at their distribution,” Kamensky explained.

This partnership showcases the power of Feeding San Diego’s network. By combining our efforts with partners like STEP, we can do so much more for the community.

“Our support in delivering Feeding San Diego’s food and produce helps us reach and serve more military and veteran families,” Tracy A. Owens, the programs manager for STEP, added. “We are looking forward to our continued partnership because, together, we can provide more support to our families at Camp Pendleton and throughout the county.”

Two men in uniform stand near a pop-up with Support the Enlisted Project written on it

Volunteers at the recent STEP and Feeding San Diego distribution

How to Participate in Military Appreciation Month

At Feeding San Diego, we believe access to nutritious food is one sacrifice military families should never have to make. Feeding San Diego partners with a range of organizations, like STEP, committed to supporting the San Diego military community. You can make an impact this month by donating to support our Feeding Heroes initiative. Every dollar donated helps provide two meals to San Diegans facing hunger, which includes veterans and military families.