SPOKANE, Wash. — Veterans and their families lined up at the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex on Veterans Day to receive free food from 2nd Harvest’s mobile market, addressing growing food insecurity among military families.
The mobile market provided boxes of produce, eggs and canned goods to veterans, with volunteers greeting each recipient with thanks for their service. While 2nd Harvest has hosted Veterans Day food markets before, volunteers said this year’s event carried special significance.
“The need has probably never been greater,” said Art Smalley, a volunteer at the event.
The distribution comes as food insecurity affects one in five veteran and military families nationwide, according to the Military Family Advisory Network. More than one million of those families rely on SNAP benefits, which had been paused until recently.
Air Force veteran John Routt said the statistics are humbling for those who have served.
“I’m very blessed in my position that I have the ability to have food and things like that. But I think not knowing when your next meal is going to come and where it’s coming from is a very hard thing to do,” Routt said.
Many volunteers distributing food were veterans themselves, creating connections between those who served. Among them was Wilbur Bjerke, a Korean War veteran who will turn 100 in two weeks.
“I served in the Army and I was in Panmunjom when they had the peace talks,” Bjerke said.
When word spread about Bjerke’s upcoming centennial birthday, other veterans stopped to thank him and wish him well.
The event showcased the bonds between veterans across different generations and branches of service.
“Every vet is a member of a family, no matter what branch of the service they served. It’s nice. It really is, because we gave up our time in our life for this country,” Routt said.
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