For media inquiries, please contact Mike Lahrman at communications@operationhomefront.org or call (210) 202-1243.
Operation Homefront to give over 14,000 meals in 2019 Holiday Meals for Military® program
SAN ANTONIO – Operation Homefront, the national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, will kick off its annual Holiday Meals for Military program beginning November 14. The program provides lower- and mid-grade ranking military families with all the grocery items necessary for a full holiday meal, helping to ease a widely felt financial burden and to make the holiday season brighter for those who sacrifice so much. More than 100,000 meals have been provided to military families across the country since the program began in 2009, serving more than 400,000 military family members.
Thanks to the generous support of partners including Beam Suntory, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., Chobani, P&G, SAS Shoes, Outback Steakhouse, and Bob Hope Legacy, meals are being distributed at events across the country this holiday season. While more than 9,000 meals will be distributed throughout November and December, Operation Homefront has joined various partners for Easter, Fourth of July, Veterans Day and other traditional holidays to distribute meals. Operation Homefront expects to end the year having provided more than 14,000 meals to military families in 2019.
Registration is now open for eligible military families to receive holiday meals at more than 50 locations nationwide, including Honolulu, HI.; Boca Raton, FL.; San Antonio, TX.; Camp Murray, WA; and Coraopolis, PA. The annual program begins November 14 and will conclude on December 20.
“On behalf of the tens of thousands of military families we seek to serve, I would like to send a heartfelt “thank you” to our many caring corporate, foundation and individual donors for helping us provide them a special meal again this holiday season,” said Brig. Gen. (ret.) John I. Pray Jr., President and CEO of Operation Homefront. “Through our highly valued Holiday Meals for Military program, we can ease the financial burdens our service members and their families who serve alongside them are facing and give them the opportunity to enjoy the holiday season more fully.”
The Holiday Meals for Military program began Thanksgiving 2009 as the result of a chance encounter in a supermarket in Utica, N.Y. A soldier, his wife, and infant had a handful of grocery items they could not afford, so a Beam Suntory employee took care of the $12 cost for the groceries. The generosity led to the creation of Operation Homefront’s Holiday Meals for Military program and Beam Suntory continues to support the program.
For more information on how to volunteer or donate, visit OperationHomefront.org/holidaymeals.
