Food insecurity is a big concern among families of military personnel

Abigail Kennedy is a navy wife and she and her children frequently visit food giveaways in order to stock up for emergencies. She says that if not for the giveaways her children would have to eat cereal for days on end. 

Her family has been living paycheck to paycheck for the past nine years but she's not alone. Abigail's family is one among the 700 families who received food at the Military Families Advisory Network's giveaways. According to Feeding America, a network of food banks and meal programs that provide meals to the hungry said that approximately 160,000 military families have difficulty putting food on the table, especially families of troops who are enlisted in junior ranks. Almost 30% of them need help. The situation has become even direr by the Department of Agriculture rule that restricts families from receiving Supplemental Nutritional Assitance Program benefits. The Military Housing Assistance money that is used up in paying rents is calculated as income which restricts families from applying or securing other government benefits. The food insecurity issue was first highlighted in February. Low wages, frequent moves, high levels of unemployment among military spouses, and stigma contributed to the issue. 

Having said that, for the first time things do not seem so gloomy for these families. The Department of Defense commissioned a 90-day battle plan to identify and contact hungry military families and provide them with the necessary help. However, people like Abigail are not very sure of the plans panning out successfully having been railroaded before. She does credit the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society for proving them with timely financial assistance and loan programs. 

Source: CBS News