Fri. Nov 1st, 2024

Mountaineer Food Bank is asking people to donate to the organization’s Veterans Table program this month to honor veterans. (Getty Images)

Mountaineer Food Bank is calling on West Virginians to honor veterans this November — which is National Veterans and Military Families Month — by donating to the organization’s Veterans Table program.

The program, according to a news release, provides boxes of food, pet food and more to veterans in need across the state. To date, the program has delivered more than 500,000 meals to veterans and their families throughout West Virginia.

“Veterans have given so much to protect and serve our country, and it’s our responsibility to make sure they don’t face the added burden of hunger,” said Chad Morrison, CEO of Mountaineer Food Bank, in the news release. “We know that through volunteering, making a recurring donation, or spreading the word about the program, we’re one step closer to no veteran in West Virginia ever going hungry.”

A $35 donation to the Veterans Table program covers one meal box for a veteran while setting up a recurring donation can support ongoing assistance. Volunteers are also wanted to help pack food boxes for distribution.

Many clients in the Veterans Table program are seniors and veterans with disabilities. According to Mountaineer Food Bank, the program sends 300 food boxes a month to homes for those who cannot attend distribution events. Dates and locations for upcoming distributions are available at https://www.mountaineerfoodbank.org/veteranstable.

Challenges in accessing and affording nutritional food have increased in recent years as inflation has risen and many veterans rely on fixed incomes to live. 

According to Feeding America, a nonprofit focused on ending food insecurity across the country, one in seven West Virginians is facing hunger. Veterans, per the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, are 7% more likely to experience food insecurity than other Americans.

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