(Featured photo courtesy Golden Harvest Food Bank)
For the third year in a row, Golden Harvest Food Bank teamed up with Fort Eisenhower Christmas House to provide boxes of food for E6 and below active-duty service members.
Military families who preregistered were able to “shop” for gifts for their children and pets while also receiving boxes of shelf-stable food items through Golden Harvest. In 2023, 869 children were served including 445 families, according to a news release from the Golden Harvest Food Bank.
More than 100 organizations and individuals throughout the CSRA donated toy items and monetary donations in order for families to get the Christmas House shopping experience.
Christmas House was set up like a retail store with shopping carts and shelves filled with toys and books. Once the families exited the Christmas House, Golden Harvest Food Bank staff greeted them with boxes of food, hams and turkeys.
“The marriage between Golden Harvest Food Bank and the Christmas House located on Fort Eisenhower is simply beautiful,” said Nomi Stanton, Fort Eisenhower Christmas House advisor, in the release. “Being able to provide food as well as toys for our military families who have dedicated their lives to selfless service is a true blessing, and I am beyond grateful.”
Founded more than 60 years ago by a group of nurses who worked on base, Fort Eisenhower Christmas House began as a mission to bring joy and toys to military families. The group offered teddy bears as Christmas gifts to children of deployed military personnel, the release said.
Christmas House has expanded since then to provide all qualifying military families toys, bicycles and food boxes.
“Fort Eisenhower Christmas House gives us the opportunity to show our military families that we are appreciative of their services on the front lines serving our country while also providing those in need with nourishment,” said Amy Breitmann, President & CEO, Golden Harvest Food Bank. “This partnership means a great deal to us and we’re glad that we can return the help to those that help us every single day.”
According to Feeding America projections as many as 160,000 active-duty enlisted service members are facing food insecurity, with about 22,000 currently signed up to receive SNAP benefits. In a recent survey of Feeding America’s food banks, approximately half are serving active-duty military members and their families, the release said.
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