It is a hidden crisis that has existed for years inside one of the most well-funded institutions on the planet and has only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic: As many as 160,000 active-duty US military members are having trouble feeding their families.
The estimate by Feeding America, which coordinates the work of more than 200 food banks in the US, underscores how long-term food insecurity has extended into every aspect of life, including the military.
The exact scope of the problem is a topic of debate, due to a lack of formal study, but food security advocates say that it has existed for years and primarily affects junior-level enlisted service members — ranks E1 to E4 in military parlance — with children.
“It’s a shocking truth that’s known to many food banks across the United States,” Feeding America government relations officer Vince Hall said. “This should be the cause of deep embarrassment.”
The group estimates that 29 percent of troops in the most junior enlisted ranks faced food insecurity during the previous year.
“It is what it is,” said James Bohannon, 34, a naval E4 (petty officer third class) in San Diego, California, who relies on food assistance to keep his two daughters fed.
“You know what you’re signing up for in the military,” he said, after emerging from a “drive-thru” food distribution organized by the local Armed Services YMCA branch. “But I’m not going to lie. It’s really tough.”
In addition to modest pay for junior enlisted ranks, the frequent moves inherent to military life make it difficult for military spouses to find steady work. Also, the internal military culture of self-sufficiency leaves many reluctant to speak about their difficulties, as they fear that they would be regarded as irresponsible.
The problem is exacerbated by an obscure US Department of Agriculture rule that prevents thousands of needy military families from accessing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps.
“It’s one of these things that the American people don’t know about, but it’s a matter of course among military members. We know this,” said US Senator Tammy Duckworth, a former Black Hawk pilot who lost both legs in a helicopter crash in Iraq. “We’re the mightiest military on the face of the Earth, and yet those who are on the lower rung of our military ranks are — if they are married and have a child or two — they’re hungry. How can you focus on carrying out the mission and defending our democracy if you’re worried about whether or not your kid gets dinner tonight?”
Meredith Knopp, chief executive officer of a food bank in St Louis, Missouri, and an US Army veteran, said the problem cuts across all branches of the military.
She recalls being a young officer in Texas when she was approached by a new private with a baby.
“They were getting ready to turn off his electricity because he couldn’t pay his bills,” she said. “It was shocking to me.”
Perhaps the best indication of how entrenched the problem has become is a network of military-adjacent charitable organizations such as the Armed Services YMCA and Blue Star Families that has developed an infrastructure of food banks near most major domestic bases.
San Diego might be one of the epicenters of the phenomenon, with high housing costs and multiple military bases within driving distance.
For Brooklyn Pittman — whose husband, Matthew, is in the US Navy — the move to California from West Virginia this year was a financial shock.
“We had a nice savings built up and then we moved out here and it was rough,” she said. “We still had student loans and everything on top of everything else.”
Their savings quickly disappeared, and the small income she earns from dog-sitting did not come close to covering the shortfall. For a while, the couple considered sleeping in their vehicle on the base grounds until the next paycheck.
Pittman was one of 320 families participating in the Armed Services YMCA’s “drive-thru” food distribution late last month. The organization had been hosting events like this for more than 10 years, but when the pandemic struck, expanded operations from six sites to 11 around the country and doubled the frequency of the San Diego-area events.
There is a diversity of opinion as to how much of a stigma the issue carries within military communities.
Kelly Klor, who works on food insecurity issues for Blue Star Families, recalls a period of financial hardship 13 years ago as a young mother in Texas whose husband had just enlisted.
The family pinched pennies at every opportunity, never eating out and relying on the local public library for entertainment.
However, they still depended on the SNAP for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to afford expensive baby formula for her infant daughter.
“I felt embarrassed pulling out my vouchers,” she said. “But at the same time, I was thinking: ‘Should it be this hard?’”
Klor recalls treating her financial trouble as a taboo subject, even through she suspected many families around her were in the same situation.
“It seemed like it wasn’t something that you share with other people,” she said.
However, Maggie Meza, a Blue Star Families representative in San Diego, recalls the communal poverty as common knowledge and a bonding element among families.
“It was like: ‘Your husband’s a sergeant, my husband’s a sergeant. We’re both broke. Let’s go find some free stuff,’” she said.
Families living outside base grounds receive a basic allowance for housing to help cover most of their costs.
However, the 2008 US’ Food and Nutrition Act dictates that the allowance counts as income in calculating eligibility to receive SNAP benefits, disqualifying thousands of military families.
The allowance does not count as income for tax reasons or for WIC benefits.
Food security advocates say they are confused that the rule has endured for more than 12 years.
“No one seems to know why it’s still a law,” Hall said.
Armed Services YMCA chief development officer Dorene Ocamb said that the regulation might just be “a case of unintended consequences.”
Duckworth said: “I couldn’t tell you where it comes from. I can only tell you that they won’t change it.”
An agriculture department spokesman said in an e-mail reply that the department is “taking a fresh look at our authorities with respect to this policy.”
The issue is more than just a humanitarian problem. It directly effects US national security, said Josh Protas, vice president of public policy for MAZON, an organization that has done extensive research on military hunger.
Military members enduring food insecurity are more likely to be distracted in the field and less likely to re-enlist, he said, adding that the talent loss might be generational, because military service tends to run in families.
“We’re doing a disservice to future recruitment efforts,” Protas said. “We could be losing good people because they can’t support their families.”
Several people involved in the issue criticized the US Department of Defense for turning a blind eye to the problem.
“The denial by the Pentagon has been frustrating,” Protas said. “It’s embarrassing for our leaders to acknowledge the problem.”
Colleen Heflin, a public administration professor at Syracuse University, said the lack of Pentagon interest has led to a critical shortage of proper study or data.
“In my experiences, it’s hard to explain this to Department of Defense officials,” she said. “They find it embarrassing and something they would not like to acknowledge.”
However, Ocamb denies claims that the military is burying the issue.
She acknowledges that there are “some optics that people are trying to work around,” but says that most base commanders welcome the assistance and points out that the military owns the San Diego property where the Armed Services YMCA food distributions take place.
“I think the military knows this is a complex issue, and they rely on partners like us,” she said. “This concept that the military wants to sweep this under the rug — then why do they let us keep doing this on navy-owned ground?”
Some of those who had complained about Pentagon reluctance to face the issue say that the attitude has changed over the past few months under the administration of US President Joe Biden.
Military Family Advisory Network president Shannon Razsadin says she has felt a change in attitude from the Pentagon this year, and partially credits US first lady Jill Biden for championing the issue.
“They are focused on understanding it,” she said. “Six months ago, I wouldn’t have said that.”
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