Holiday Meals Gift Card a Treat for Army Spouse Following Special Diet
Army spouse Deidre Larson felt ecstatic after receiving a gift card at an Operation Homefront’s Holiday Meals for Military® event in Anchorage, Alaska.
The gift card, which could be used at most retail stores and online, stretched her family’s grocery budget and allowed her to purchase celiac-friendly foods such as gluten-free bread. Traditional prepackaged holiday meals don’t include those diet-specific foods.
“It’s a bad feeling for me when someone gives me food and I can’t eat most of it,” Deidre said, explaining that a restricted diet is necessary because she lives with a rare health condition.
Her husband, Kenneth, enlisted in the Army in 2022 so he and Deidre and their 10-year-old daughter, Tesla, would have adequate insurance coverage and access to better health care. He works in forward observation and is assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Deidre divides her time between caring for Tesla and a part-time retail job.
Kenneth is an indigineous Alaskan, and Deidre was raised there. Both grew up near Anchorage, and they understand the economics of living in a remote location where groceries can cost as much as 30 percent more than in the continental United States. Buying specialty items, when they are available on store shelves, strains their already stretched grocery budget.
The Larsons were surprised to find commissary prices are about half of what they are at a nearby retailer. However, Deidre finds a limited selection of items that fit her diet. “Up here (buying gluten-free foods) is nearly impossible,” she said. “With the insane fees added into prices, a loaf of bread can cost more than $10—if I can ever find it.”
The gift card with the Holiday Meals for Military package allowed her to shop online, which saves money. Having groceries delivered helps, too, on days when mobility issues confine her and her husband is away from home for training, as he was until just before Thanksgiving.
“When people are donating, especially with a gift card, they may not be thinking about people like me with food restrictions, but we are the ones they are helping the most.” – Deidre Larson, Army spouse
“It was especially helpful in my household,” she said in expressing her gratitude to the donors who make Holiday Meals for Military and other Operation Homefront programs possible. “When people are donating, especially with a gift card, they may not be thinking about people like me with food restrictions, but we are the ones they are helping the most. It feels good to be seen.”
Tesla also received a board game from the event, which served about 300 Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson families.
“The board game was nice because it gave Tesla and me something normal to do while her dad was away,” Deidre said.
Thanks to the generosity of donors, sponsors, and volunteers, the Holiday Meals for Military program has provided more than 190,000 military and veteran families with holiday meals since it began in 2010.
In addition to Holiday Meals for Military, Operation Homefront offers a variety of housing, financial assistance, and family support programs throughout the United States as part of its mission to build strong, stable, and secure military families.
