The government shutdown is dragging on, and a lot of military families out there aren’t getting paid. This means there could be a sharp spike in food insecurity among military families. Even if it ends soon, this isn’t the first one, and it likely won’t be the last.
For now, the Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN), a nonprofit with a mission to understand and amplify the needs of military-connected families and inspire data-informed change, is offering real help, right now, for free. All military families need to do is sign up.
The way the Emergency Grocery Support program for military families is simple. Active duty, Guard, and Reserve families should apply at militarymeals.org, verify their service through SheerID, and watch for a link to be emailed back to them (and check their spam box, just in case).
There’s no point in forwarding the link; there’s only one registration per household.
“We have boxes of shelf-stable food shipped to their door, plus a Commissary gift card,” an MFAN outreach representative told We Are The Mighty in an email. “We started this to give families relief from the possibility of not being paid during the government shutdown. While we’re relieved service members will be paid this time, what happens after the next paycheck is still uncertain. We want to give military families a little peace of mind right now.”
Boxes ship from Houston, Texas, and take around two to five days to arrive.
“We created this to ease stress around the shutdown and the uncertainty after the next paycheck,” said the MFAN rep. “Active-duty, Guard, and Reserve households can sign up at militarymeals.org. Quick verification, one registration per household, boxes typically arrive in 2–5 days.”
And don’t forget to share this story with another military family who might need to know.
