• BONNEY LAKE, Wash.

As the government shutdown drags on, a military veteran is stepping up to make sure military families do not go hungry.

Dale Herron, who served 14 years in the U.S. Navy, is now a board member with Mission Outdoors, a non-profit that supports military and first responder families. He is leading an effort to hand out Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) commissary gift cards to help service members and their families buy groceries at local military bases.

“We care, we care, I mean, you’re not alone,” Herron said, and through late October, the veteran has raised about $3,000 for gift cards heading to JB Lewis-McChord, Wash., with plans to expand to other bases across Washington State.

FINANCIAL STRAIN

Herron said commissary gift cards are critical because only people with military identification can use them on base — ensuring the donations reach those who need them.

“Commissary gift cards are important because you have to have military I.D. on base to use this gift card,” Herron said. “So we know it’s going to the family members of these military members as well as military members in need.”

He added that the financial strain is hitting hard during the shutdown, especially for enlisted service members who already live on tight paychecks. “Even without the shutdown, military members don’t get the best pay, enlisted especially,” Herron said. “Their pay is bare minimum.

“What makes up for that pay are the added benefits, the extra stuff on base … now during a shutdown, I would imagine those extra things are nonexistent.”

FEELING THE IMPACT

One Navy spouse, a Kitsap County resident, said her household is already feeling that impact. Her husband has served in the Navy for 16 years and now works as both a U.S. Navy Reserve employee and a federal employee.

“He came home the other day saying his paycheck was zero dollars,” she said. “To see our bank accounts and there’s nothing there, especially for military families who are serving this country, it’s impossible to even think that’s happening right now.

“Not being able to put food on your kids’ plates … one gift card can give dinner, give lunches, give something to the family,” she said.

Source: King 5 News, Seattle, Wash. (https://www.king5.com/)

Edited by Larry Lapka