Building on Momentum to Address Hunger Crisis for Military Families, Craig Newmark Philanthropies Deepens Investment in MAZON
With food banks operating on or near every military installation in the United States and a growing need for food among military families, Craig Newmark Philanthropies announced an additional $100,000 investment in MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger to fund the national organization’s efforts to remove barriers to food and nutrition for military families.
“Craig Newmark Philanthropies consistently works to honor our national commitment to the active-duty military families who have served all of us,” said Abby J. Leibman, MAZON President and CEO. “This grant augments the national momentum to address food insecurity among military families. We are grateful for the foundation’s support for MAZON’s values-driven mission for a future where no one in America should experience hunger, especially our nation’s military families who don’t know where their next meal is coming from.”
The grant will help sustain MAZON’s long-standing work to foster greater food access among military families such as deepening the understanding of military hunger among policymakers, facilitating increased interagency cooperation, and advancing policies that remove systemic barriers to safety net programs such as SNAP (formerly food stamps).
“We owe a lot to veterans and active-duty servicemembers who defend our freedom every day,” said Craig Newmark. “I strongly believe that we all must do more so that none of our country’s defenders should worry about feeding their families. That’s why I am proud to deepen my partnership with MAZON, which has been leading the field in identifying and advancing long-term solutions to end military hunger.”
The latest grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies comes as MAZON is working with allies in Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration to advance durable solutions for food insecurity among military families. Building off of the alarming findings from its April report, “Hungry in the Military: Food Insecurity Among Military Families in the U.S.”, MAZON is pushing for Congress to adopt one of the report’s key recommendations as the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened America’s hunger crisis — establishing a Military Family Basic Needs Allowance in the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).