NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Scores of military families in Hampton Roads got a free holiday meal this season, thanks to a national organization that serves veterans and active duty service members.
"It's to give back to the military families that support us every day," explained Phil Zettel, a retired Navy chief and volunteer.
With the help of volunteers, Operation Homefront's Holiday Meals for Military brought a bit of holiday cheer to service members and their families.
"Operation Homefront is very significant in supporting our active duty military personnel. Anything to try to brighten up and lighten the load for the holiday season," said Keith Ingram with MCCS Hampton Roads.
In Newport News on Nov. 17 and Norfolk on Dec. 8, volunteers passed out fresh groceries to military families — free of charge — so they could prepare a traditional holiday meal.
"More and more military families are struggling to put food on the table. The need continues to grow," said Rachael Tetreau with Operation Homefront. "As many as 26 percent of enlisted active duty service members report some level of food insecurity."
The holiday season is often a chance for family and friends to come together to share a meal. But we're all feeling the rising cost of living – and military families are not exempt.
Tetreau coordinates Operation Homefront activities in Hampton Roads.
"Those junior enlisted folks don't make as much money as some of our more senior enlisted military members and those food prices continue to rise. They're expected to continue to rise at above historical average rates," explained Tetreau.
The Holiday Meals for Military program is an annual event that started back in 2010. Every year, Operation Homefront volunteers come together to pack and distribute meal kits to families who need them most.
"At the end of this year, we'll have served our 700,000th family for the holiday. This year alone we're serving 14,500 families for the holidays," a volunteer told 13News Now. "We look at grocery inflation at 5.8 percent currently - just in 2023. It's one of those things where we're trying to make sure our families feel the love and support."
Event organizers said many military members are far from family on the holidays and they hope that by easing the financial burden that comes with buying a holiday meal, they can make the holiday season a little brighter.
"Many of our families are deployed or not with their families, or they might not be living in the same state as their families right now, this is a way to kind of make them revisit that and really think about ways to make it positive for them; To really remember their family and make that connection that they sometimes miss when they're deployed," Mychael Willon, a volunteer.
Many of the volunteers and workers at Operation Homefront are veterans and military family members, themselves. So, they say, they know firsthand how much events like this can make a difference.
"I think it means a lot of the personnel because they know that other people are backing them up while they're out there defending the nation during these times that we're dealing with in this world. They know the Homefront got them covered," said Ingram.
"Being deployed a lot I knew organizations like this giving back to my family, taking care of them, it gives you that reassurance that they're going to enjoy the holiday as much as possible when their parent is not home" said Zettel.
13News Now is shining a spotlight on organizations like this in our annual "Holiday Salute: A Tribute to our Armed Forces," which will air at 4:30 p.m Jan. 1 on 13News Now.