Leading the Charge to Remove Barriers for Military Families

For nearly a decade, MAZON has made it a priority to understand and address the unique challenges of military families who struggle with food insecurity. It’s unacceptable that tens of thousands of service members are shut out of accessing SNAP and other food assistance programs, and must quietly turn for help to food pantries. And now, the COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating the financial challenges of even more military families.

By the numbers

Food pantries

operate on or near every military base in the U.S.

1/3 of military children

at Department of Defense-run schools are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

24% of military spouses

are unemployed. This was true even before the COVID-19 crisis.

Tens of thousands

of military families are ineligible for SNAP because their Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is counted as income.

Hungry in the Military: Food Insecurity Among Military Families in the U.S.

Military servicemembers and their families make significant sacrifices for the United States, yet many regularly struggle to put food on the table. MAZON’s report details the persistent food insecurity among currently serving military families. Drawing from decades-long expertise in the anti-hunger field, MAZON offers solutions to end military hunger.

Read the Report

This is Hunger

Stories

Read more stories

“I’m doing all I can and serving my country, and I have to worry about how I’m going to buy food?”

Gabriel, California

“We thought being in the military might be a way out of living paycheck to paycheck… I'm shocked that so many military families are standing in line at the food pantry because they really need help.”

Ashley, California

Take Action

Urge Congress: Support Military Families Facing Hunger

America’s men and women in uniform fight for our freedom; MAZON is fighting to ensure they have freedom from hunger. Please join MAZON in urging the Biden-Harris Administration to take immediate action to resolve this shameful and long-overlooked problem.

Take action now

Learn More

Josh Protas, VP of Public Policy, Discusses Military Family Food Insecurity (Scripps News)

MAZON's Vice President of Public Policy, Josh Protas, discusses the problem of food insecurity among military families — and how we can finally address it. Read more.

MAZON Says It’s ‘Inexcusable’ that NDAA Again Fails to Address Military Hunger

It is inexcusable that Congress once again chose to ignore the needs of military families facing hunger in this year’s NDAA. By the Pentagon’s own estimate, a shocking 24% of military families experience food insecurity, yet Congress refuses time and again to provide essential support to those who struggle. Read more.

Meager pay, poor nutrition for many military families: National embarrassment for U.S.? (Frontiersman)

“This is an embarrassment. We ask so much of these people (military families) and we pay them so little. And then we deny them the SNAP benefit,” said Josh Protas, vice president for policy at MAZON, a national group long active in low-income food assistance.

Read more.

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