National nonprofit distributes holiday meal kits to hundreds of local military families on Veterans Day

SALT LAKE CITY — A national nonprofit organization has taken the initiative this Veterans Day to support local military families that are struggling to make ends meet during the government shutdown.

On Tuesday, Operation Homefront distributed holiday meal kits and gift cards to 250 military service members and their families as part of its annual Holiday Meals for Military program. The goal was to help alleviate some of their financial burden and to thank them for their service.

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On Tuesday, Operation Homefront distributed holiday meal kits and gift cards to 250 military service members and their families as part of its annual Holiday Meals for Military program. (Operation Homefront)

“As costs continue to climb and budgets are stretched thin, Operation Homefront’s Critical Financial Assistance program, which provides short-term help for military families facing unexpected financial hardship, saw a 57% jump in requests for food-related support from military families in the past year, even before the government shutdown began,” according to a press release from the organization.

Tuesday’s event in Roy was just one of dozens of others that took place across the country. This year, the program has served more than 12,000 families nationwide.

“While food insecurity among the ranks remains stubbornly around 25%, Operation Homefront is working to ensure military families don’t have to choose between paying a bill and creating those special holiday memories that are so often made around the dinner table,” the organization wrote in the press release.

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