• FORT GREGG-ADAMS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) annual “Feds Feed Families” campaign, held this year from June 24 through Sept. 30, ended with 12.1 million pounds of goods donated to food banks across the nation, marking an increase of more than 2 million pounds over 2023’s total.

According to Keith Laughinghouse, the Defense Commissary Agency’s (DeCA) “Feds Feed Families” project officer and a commissary management specialist, the 12.1 million pounds represented an increase of more than 21 percent over last year.

Of those donations, the Department of Defense (DoD) contributed 6.1 million pounds, or 51 percent, an increase of more than 3.4 percent from last year.

DeCA’s share of DoD’s total was 4.3 million pounds. or 71 percent, which equates to a total increase of more than 4.9 percent from last year.

This is the fifth year that DoD has designated DeCA as its overall campaign leader.

“None of this is possible without teams working diligently across the Department of Defense and at commissaries,” Laughinghouse said.

“With the support and generosity of commissary patrons, DoD and DeCA employees, we crushed last year’s food donation totals,” he said. “An awesome job!”

FOOD INSECURITY

According to the USDA, 13.5 percent of U.S. households were considered food insecure in 2023.

Many households which experience food insecurity do not qualify for federal nutrition programs and rely on local food banks and other food programs for extra support.

HOW IT WORKS

Each year, the campaign encourages employees from across the federal government to donate to stateside food banks and pantries.

Participating stateside military installations helped collect items designated as “most needed” by food pantries.

Commissary customers and employees in these communities participated by purchasing needed food for donation while shopping at commissaries, or bringing items from home and placing them in donation bins at the store.

Once collected, local installation officials worked with the commissary to deliver the donations from all installation sources to local food banks.

“It’s an honor — and truly a privilege — for us at DeCA to have been chosen to lead the Department of Defense’s ‘Feds Feed Families’ campaign again this year, and together set a new milestone,” said Navy Command Master Chief Mario Rivers, senior enlisted advisor to DeCA’s director.

“This is a duty we don’t take lightly, and one that we’re excited to embrace,” he added. “Importantly, these donations remain in the areas where they are collected, allowing us one way to give back to the hundreds of communities that host defense installations here in the states.”

Source: DeCA
Edited by Larry Lapka