For more visit: https://feedingsandiego.org/ Day of Giving: Every dollar donated will be matched by the USS Midway Foundation up to $25,000 to help provide nutritious food to active duty military families and veterans across San Diego County who are facing hunger. The community can support our heroes in bringing meals home to their families by making a gift to Feeding San Diego. Active duty and veterans make so many sacrifices but access to nutritious food should not be one of them. We need the community to come together to support Feeding San Diego so we can ensure no one has to worry about where their next meal is coming from. Feeding San Diego partners with military organizations like Support the Enlisted Project and Courage to Call to provide food access to active-duty military families and veterans. We also partner with schools near or on military bases to provide support with groceries to military families According to the Military Economic Impact Report 2023, more than 115,000 active-duty service men and women now call San Diego home. Military families stationed in San Diego face a high cost-of-living in San Diego and sometimes need additional resources for support. Junior enlisted members of all branches are the most affected by the gap in salary and the high cost of living in San Diego. Military families experience circumstances that present unique challenges to their households, particularly when the service member is deployed. Military spouses often have a hard time finding work because they move frequently and may have to provide childcare. By operating its own direct program sites and providing food to agency partners embedded in the military community, Feeding San Diego is directly impacting members of the community of 115,000 active-duty service members, as well as the 260,000 military dependents, stationed in San Diego County. Some of the reasons military families face hunger include the fact that service members are paid lower salaries at lower ranks, the high unemployment rates for military spouses, and high cost of living near military bases. Feeding Heroes initiative is a core initiative of the hunger-relief organization. According to Feeding America, 24% of active-duty military households across the country experienced food insecurity in 2020. Many military families aren't eligible for food assistance programs, including public benefits such as CalFresh, the California version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, because the housing allowance many military families receive to help make housing more affordable is considered income. Unfortunately, this additional income disqualifies many families from federal food assistance programs.