Sisters-in-Service

Confronting Food Insecurity within our Military Community: A Call to Action to our Military Leaders

• Cat Corchado • Episode 170

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Imagine serving your country with unwavering dedication, only to find yourself struggling to provide basic meals for your family. This week on Sisters in Service, we confront the urgent and often overlooked issue of food insecurity among military families. Drawing from my own experiences as a single parent in the Air Force, I bring to light the harsh financial realities faced by so many within our ranks. Despite what appears to be a generous military budget, systemic barriers like the inclusion of the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) as income make countless service members ineligible for crucial food assistance programs. This episode is a heartfelt plea for change, a call to acknowledge and address the needs of those who serve.

As we unpack these systemic issues, the focus shifts to advocacy and the pressing need for legislative action. The frustration is palpable as we discuss the role of active-duty personnel and the necessary push for accountability from our leaders, particularly in Congress. This conversation underscores the responsibility of decision-makers to ensure military families have their basic needs met. We close with an empowering reminder: it's never too late to demand change and work toward solutions, no matter how insurmountable the challenge may seem. Tune in to understand why this issue demands our collective attention and action.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Sisters in Service podcast. Most of you know me as a strong advocate for women veterans in being recognized not only as veterans but also as women who are changing the world through our passion of serving even after service. This podcast is my passion by telling all the stories of military brats, military spouses, active duty and veterans, not to forget the veteran service organizations that help us along our transition journey. I want to thank you in advance for listening. I hope that you will join me. Every week, a new podcast and episode comes out every Tuesday, so I hope that you will join and I hope that you enjoy. This podcast is brought to you by Small Space Pilates. Are you ready to get fit and fabulous from the comfort of your own home? Look no further than Small Space Pilates. With live online Pilates and strength training classes, a video library and a-allowed policy, you can achieve your fitness goals without ever leaving your house. Click on the link for your complimentary week and start your journey to feeling fabulous today. Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of Sisters in Service.

Speaker 1:

I'm doing a solo today because I read something that made me remember something not so nice in the military and I can't believe this is still happening. Hear me out, okay. So we're going to be talking about food insecurity in the military, active duty members and families that have food insecurity. It's happened, it's happening. I can't believe that it's happening still today. So let me tell you where this all started. Believe that it's happening still today? So let me tell you where this all started. So I read a Bloomberg Law article and it was titled Too Much Income, too Little Food why Hunger Plagues Our Troops, right? So I'm like wait, what? What are we doing here? And so here are some facts that were in this article. Military troops are more than twice as hungry than civilians. Our military spends more on its military than anything else. Think about this for a second. More than a quarter of active duty troops meet the US Department of Defense Agriculture's definition for food insecurity More than a quarter, and, by the way, that's two and a half times the rate for US civilian population.

Speaker 1:

Here's the part that gets my goat a little bit. Congress has known about this problem for the last decade, excuse me. So here's the scenario that was in this article. It's a military member I can't remember what, what service he was in, he was wearing the uniform and it starts out. Groceries were quickly running out and so was the money.

Speaker 1:

So this person who I will not name because I do not know this person had tried skipping meals to feed his wife and teenage daughter. He thought about a second job, being Uber or doing Uber I don't know if you're be Uber or do Uber, but I guess you do Uber but realized he couldn't drive enough to make enough extra money. So, in desperation, what do you do? You file for food stamps. Right, sounds like the right thing to do. The government said no, wait for it. He made too much money.

Speaker 1:

So when you think about that, do you feel defeated? I mean, you're trying your best to fulfill your military obligations, take care of your family, but how good are you going to be at your job if you know that your family's hungry? So one of the quotes in there was being in the military. I didn't assume we'd be rich, but that we would have the basics covered. Foods are basic right, a very much needed basic. So before we go further, let me tell you.

Speaker 1:

Why this really struck home for me is that I was in the Air Force as a single parent. Again, I didn't go in the military to get rich. I knew that if I was in the Air Force as a single parent Again, I didn't go in the military to get rich. I knew that if I was in the military I would get a steady paycheck, I would have what I thought would be enough money to at least buy the basics right and to have some kind of security, have a roof over my head, et cetera. Now, in full transparency, I will tell you that I was not very good with money because I was not taught how to be what's the word. I won't say good at money, but you know how to look at what I have versus what's going out and what to do. So I will take that hit for me because I do know that.

Speaker 1:

So I applied whichever organization you apply to on base, because I can't remember. Now, keep in mind, I've been out of the military 24 years, so this is over 30, 35 years ago or more. I was living in base housing and I remember. Now, keep in mind, this was before direct deposit, all of this other stuff. I would get my check, I would go and cash my check and after paying bills, I would have a $10 bill left over and I would fold it ever so neatly and put it in my wallet until the next payday. This was for incidentals. Maybe more milk, more bread, more peanut butter, whatever. So I decided to apply to this organization.

Speaker 1:

Single parent not making enough money Sounds like a win-win, right? No, and here's the kicker I made too much money. So here's another little known fact An airman, married with children and or a single parent with children are the most likely to be below the poverty line. Most military people get allowances for housing, also known as BAH. I can't believe I remembered that, but I did to help with housing. But did you know that it's exactly that allowance, along with others, that we get, that make our military members unable to qualify for SNAP benefits? So you think you're helping on one hand, but you're not on the other hand.

Speaker 1:

So what do you do? Do you get a second job? Does your spouse get a job? What do you do? Because if you have kids, nowadays kids need all kinds of things for school. When my child was going to school, we didn't have to buy a whole list of things and take it in there. He had a certain list that was for him, but now it's a little bit different. So this is embarrassing to me. I think it's absolutely just unbelievable that our military is doing this, that our military is having to suffer through this because it is suffering, and that there are some members in Washington who are suggesting that some of those allowances be taken away from active duty members. What? You're going to take that away, but you want them still applied for SNAP benefits. Why don't we have a big enough raise to cover some of this stuff, along with all the allowances? Why isn't that being talked about?

Speaker 1:

Let's backtrack a little bit. You have a family. Maybe you're in base housing, maybe you're not, it doesn't matter. But you know that your paycheck whatever that is you're bringing in isn't enough to even cover basics. So in my scenario, this is what happened with me. But I also have a security clearance, and back in the day they would say look, you know, if you weren't paying your bills, guess who they go to? Those companies go right to your boss and say, by the way, you're not paying your bills. So now I am afraid that I'm going to lose my security clearance. So I don't say anything to anybody.

Speaker 1:

However, the stress of all of it, right, what if you have to go temporary duty? Or maybe you're getting deployed? Now what? Now you're worried about your family, which by rights you should be, but you're also having to cover someone's back, if needed, in an era, that or area that needs your direct attention. So what do you do? So quality of life is huge for any of us, but especially if you're serving your country.

Speaker 1:

Consistent pay raises are, let's be real, inconsistent. At best they give us what we think we should have. Yeah, let's give them a little bit of that. Make them happy. I have a hard time with anyone making a decision about the military. Military pay is one who has never even served in the military, I have a hard time with it, I just do.

Speaker 1:

I'm sorry, but here's the thing that caught my attention. It wasn't just the article caught my attention, it wasn't just the article. It was who wrote the article. The article is civilian, the people who wrote about it are civilians and I noticed and have been noticing that when a civilian newspaper, a civilian article in a magazine, starts to notice this in particular, food insecurity or anything else, that this must be a bigger problem than what we thought initially. Now, I knew about it years and years ago because I went through it, but I thought it was just me because I went through it, but I thought it was just me. I didn't think it was other people going through it, because you think you're the only one going through this at the time, because it's on your mind 24 hours a day. But when a civilian newspaper reaches out and says, hmm, I think that this is an issue, hmm, how big of an issue is it? So let me add something else to this. I don't want to say conundrum, it's a problem, it's a downright problem, is what it is. I'm not going to be nice about this.

Speaker 1:

So I read another article about the military moving. We move, okay, we're one place, we go to someplace else. Well, now, with the housing market or lack thereof, should I say imagine moving your family. You already have food and security. Now you have to pay more than what you're used to paying, and I'm not talking about more, maybe one and a half times more for rent, because maybe you can't get on base yet, or maybe you just can't get on base. Now, what do you do? So you either leave your families in place, which is what a lot of military people are doing, because you know it's the devil. You know right, you've been paying the rent there. You know what the rent is, you know what the area is, so you leave your family there while you go to the next duty station, while you go to the next duty station, but if you don't have any recourse, then what do you do? That, coupled with food insecurity, would make me rethink staying in the military. It just would.

Speaker 1:

So you have the stress of being in the military and, let's face it, there is no other contract on earth where it says, okay, you may be required to die for your country. I'm just putting it out there. However, we're going to give you a place to live, we're going to give you food and let's be real, recruiters aren't going to tell you all this. You may ask the question. They're going to give you the answer that they think you want to hear. You get a security clearance. You get your first paycheck, maybe your second, maybe your third.

Speaker 1:

Maybe you realize I can't send for my family quite yet, because in basic training and I have to admit, the food in the chow hall in basic training was great, it just was. But your family can't go to the chow hall. I know that I did try to go with my son. They told me no, not really. I already knew that. But you think, well, if I can go, why can't my family go? So we have this background that we already know. What do we do about it?

Speaker 1:

People in Washington, some of you decided not to serve, for whatever reason. That doesn't give you the right to tell me what I deserve. They only deserve this much. They should only get that much. People in uniform are watching your back, are keeping you safe, so don't you think that just deserves more.

Speaker 1:

So we're having these challenges in the military on top of everything else that's happening. What kind of impact do you think this is on your health and your wellbeing? The stress level by itself is I believe it was unbelievable. You're consistently thinking how can I make more money? How can, how can I fit that in with my military duties taking care of my son on top of bringing in extra money? So there aren't really any support systems. You know what they told me. Well, maybe you should be better at handling your money. Okay, great, but how's that helping me right now?

Speaker 1:

So, in full transparency, I ended up actually filing for bankruptcy because I couldn't keep up. I just couldn't, and part of that was my fault. But when you're in the middle of the storm. It's hard to think of what those solutions are. So the call to action is I want anyone listening and I know this is sisters in service, I know it's probably military and dependents and military spouses but talk to your civilian counterparts about this, write to your congressperson whoever that is and say what are you doing? We're sitting here watching your behind, but you can't pay us the money we need.

Speaker 1:

So with that, I am going to sign off, because I think that what we're talking about is more than just a discussion. I think this is something that has to be brought up consistently, and I don't know who's talking about all this. I'm going to be honest with you, but they need people active duty people be honest with you, but they need people active duty people talking to Congress, talking to whomever to say this is what's happening, why are you not fixing it? Because if it were me sitting in that chair, I would not be nice. I would not sugarcoat it. I would say why aren't you acting on this? Why aren't you doing your job? I would say why aren't you acting on this? Why aren't you doing your job? So I'm going to leave it there for now. So you know, I'm always going to say please stay safe, take care of each other Until next time, and remember it's never too late to start your impossible. So until next time, bye, thank you.