NORFOLK, Va. — It's a different way to thank military families for their service and sacrifice.
More than 750 military families lined up to get a little help this morning at a food drive hosted by the Military Family Advisory Network.
Shannon Razsadin, president of The Military Family Advisory Network, said 1 in 5 military families experienced food insecurity during the pandemic.
"You know I had this out of body experience earlier today just seeing the cars line up. We shouldn't be in this situation, we shouldn't need to be hosting these food distribution events for military families," Razsadin said.
The food distribution event was done in drive-through style outside of Military Circle Mall.
The event was just for military and veteran families.
Among those in line was a woman named Jackie, whose husband is often deployed.
"My husband's active duty," she said. "It's been really tough because we had a baby during COVID and everything so I'm not able to go to work, and then he's always gone; So it's actually a really big concern and this helps out a lot."
Razsadin said they know its hard to ask for help, so they're hoping events like this will help reduce the stigma.
"We're really proud of families seeking out this support, because we know that life is hard, we know military families face unique challenges and we're really proud to be here and to fill that gap for them," Razsadin said.
According to information provided by MFAN, since the launch of the 1 Million Meals Challenge in spring 2021, MFAN and its partners have provided the equivalent of 349,741 meals to military households in need.
MFAN is hosting food distributions throughout 2021 in areas of the country where food insecurity among military families is most prevalent.