On a hot summer day outside of the Basilica of the National Shrine, cars lined up slowly. Weaving their way through the parking lot one by one, trunks popped open as volunteers loaded boxes of fresh produce and pantry staples inside. These cars were in line for our newly launched mobile market in partnership with Soldier’s Angels, designed specifically to support veterans and active-duty military families — a group that can face food insecurity at higher rates than civilians.
In one of the cars in line was Adam Bell, along with Bear, his friendly German Shepherd, peeking his head out the window.
Adam is a veteran who joined the Air Force fresh out of high school in 2003 and went on to serve for two decades, deploying around the world. After 20 years in active-duty roles, he transitioned to a new career in civil service. Last fall, he moved from Arizona to DC for the next step in advancing his career. But a few months later, he was unexpectedly laid off as a result of broad cuts to the federal workforce.
In the months since losing his job, Adam has navigated a complex web of paperwork to line up support through various assistance programs, including unemployment compensation, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications, and job-training initiatives. As he untangled various hurdles in accessing those programs, he also found himself in line at a food distribution for the first time .
“I never thought I’d be here, needing this help,” Adam said. “But the job market is tough, and the cost of living here is no joke.”
Almost 20% of food–insecure households in our region include either a veteran or someone currently serving in the military. In addition to the high cost of living here, another barrier faced by veterans can be a culture of self-reliance that can make it difficult to seek assistance – and difficult to gauge how many veterans and military families may truly be experiencing food insecurity.
“The stigma is that you should never have to ask for help, and at some point in anybody’s lives, they have probably needed help.” Adam Bell
Adam has seen how vital food-assistance programs are: Back in Texas, his mother runs their local food pantry. Her role has shown him just how many people rely on this support and how crucial it is to have a safety net when times get tough.
Now here in DC, Adam is the one getting help in accessing nutritious food. He says he’s grateful for the support to keep him going while he plans his next step, including working toward new employment certifications – and hoping to give back by volunteering.
“This food allows me to manage my savings and not have to go through them all at once,” he says. “It provides a lot of staple ingredients that are great to have on hand.”
Along with this new mobile market with Soldier’s Angels, we also offer food distributions at Fort Belvoir and a newly opened food pantry at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB). Together, these programs help ensure that veterans and active-duty service members have access to the healthy groceries they need to thrive close to where they live and serve.