About two dozen workers from US Foods distribution center in Buda, Texas, volunteered Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, with the Military Family Advisory Network to fill 240 boxes with household essentials and food to give to military families who recently moved to Fort Cavazos. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
BUDA, Texas — Roughly two dozen workers from a food distribution company spent Wednesday morning packing 240 boxes filled with dry goods, toiletries and household supplies to help newly arrived military families at Fort Cavazos.
The pantry restock boxes were part of a $250,000 donation from the national corporation US Foods to the Military Family Advisory Network, a nonprofit supporting military families, particularly when it comes to making certain that troops can get enough food to feed their families.
“[These boxes] help them get ahead and realize they are not in this alone,” Shannon Razsadin, CEO of MFAN, told the group of workers who volunteered their morning to pack the boxes full of supplies including cereal, peanut butter, soap and MFAN-branded playing cards.
With only a handful of the volunteers identifying as connected to the military in some way, Razsadin used the event to share the experiences of service members. Most people know about the contributions made by troops but might not always know the challenges that they face because pride can stop service members from asking for help, she said.
Each year about 400,000 military families move from one duty station to another, which MFAN research has found can put a strain on finances. In its latest report released earlier this year, MFAN found most families incur between $500 and $1,000 in expenses during a military move that are not reimbursed.
About two dozen workers from US Foods’ distribution center in Buda, Texas, volunteered Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, with the Military Family Advisory Network to fill 240 boxes with household essentials and food to give to military families who recently moved to Fort Cavazos. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
Duty station moves happen on average every 2½ years.
“It’s one thing to say we’ve donated, it’s another to understand the individuals, the military service members and families, who we’re impacting in our community,” said Taylor McIntyre, area president for US Foods. “It’s so important to see where the need is and how we are contributing against it.”
The boxes, which contain about $150 worth of products, are available to any family who has arrived at Fort Cavazos in the last three months and will be distributed through 12 partner organizations, including Army Community Service, Armed Services YMCA and the American Red Cross, as well as in the community offices of some on-base housing neighborhoods.
Also included in the box is a survey regarding the family’s ability to purchase food based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s short-form food security scale. Those who meet certain criteria can qualify to receive $125 worth of groceries for free for three months through MFAN’s partnership with Instacart, a grocery delivery company.
MFAN’s research found more than 25% of active-duty military families have not been able to buy enough food for their family. More than half of those respondents also reported moving duty stations within the previous two years.
Once the volunteers from US Foods finished packing the boxes Wednesday, the company planned to drive the supplies 95 miles north to Fort Cavazos.
US Foods and MFAN planned the volunteer event to occur on the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which has since become a federally recognized day of service.
The pantry restock program is available only at Fort Cavazos, but Razsadin said there are plans to expand it based on where the organization identifies the greatest need. For more information, go to www.mfan.org.
Adam Andre, vice president of Pack Hope, stacks boxes on a pallet at a US Foods distribution center in Buda, Texas on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. The Military Family Advisory Network will distribute the boxes of household essentials and food to military families who recently moved to Fort Cavazos. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
