Holiday meals donated to 100 Utah military families

CENTERVILLE — With Thanksgiving just weeks away, Operation Homefront is helping families of active-duty service members and veterans.

On Saturday, the nonprofit organization provided holiday meals to 100 families that had previously requested assistance.

Bridgette Sanchez, a program manager with Operation Homefront, said about 28% of military families said they don't know where their next meal is coming from.

"It's hard to know that our military, who give back to us so much, they are struggling," Sanchez said.

Since launching its Holiday Meals for Military program in 2010, Operation Homefront said it has served more than 900,000 family members nationwide.

It's one of many programs that offer assistance year-round, like their Back-to-School Brigade and Star Spangled Babies.

"Food insecurity is really big in our military right now," Sanchez said. It's an issue seen locally and across the nation. "It's hard, so this community is amazing on coming in and giving."

Swire Coca-Cola, Walmart and other vendors sponsored Saturday's event. Operation Homefront currently has about 60 Utah families on its waiting list for holiday meals, and more families can apply for assistance.

Sanchez said the organization is working to hold another event to help those families as the holidays approach.

People seeking assistance can learn more at Operation Homefront's website. To apply, families must provide line-of-duty documentation or deployment orders and a military ID.

Operation Homefront also assists military families with financial aid and housing support.