Defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life, food insecurity is a problem that may affect 1 in 8 people in America, and 25% of active-duty military and Reserve members have had to rely on food bank donations to feed their families. According to a recent report by the Military Family Advisory Network, one in five military and veteran families who responded to their survey said they have experienced food insecurity. Nearly half of the respondents mentioned barriers to consistently eating balanced meals, citing the cost of healthy food items as the primary barrier.
The VFW and Humana think this is completely unacceptable, and we need YOUR help supporting the "Uniting to Combat Hunger" (UTCH) campaign to fight food insecurity and strike a knock-out blow against hunger for good.
In July, Humana and the VFW announced the results of the 2024 Uniting to Combat Hunger campaign and expanded the scope of the 2025 campaign during the 125th VFW National Convention today at the Kentucky International Convention Center.
The campaign exceeded its 2024 goal of 1 million meals to fight food insecurity among veterans. To date, the UTCH campaign has raised more than 5.6 million meals provided since the two organizations established the campaign in 2018. Humana employees teamed up with 158 VFW Posts and Auxiliaries in 41 states, gathering more than 102,000 pounds of food and nearly $183,000 for local food banks.
In addition to these results, Humana and the VFW have announced they will partner with Volunteers of America to focus on another prominent issue for the 2025 campaign – homelessness. After seven years solely focused on combatting food insecurity, local-level efforts will also focus on the additional needs of homeless veterans to help provide the stability they need to prioritize their health.
How Did UTCH Start?
Defined as the lack of access to enough nutritionally adequate foods to live an active, healthy life, food insecurity contributes to:
- Serious health complications, especially when people facing hunger are forced to choose between spending money on food and medicine or medical care.
- Damage to a child's ability to learn and grow.
- Difficult decisions for seniors - often living on fixed incomes - such as choosing between paying for food and critical healthcare.
Food insecurity is a serious societal issue that may affect 1 in 8 people in America, and as many as 1 in 4 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans. The VFW and our friends at Humana thought that this was unacceptable, and in 2018, established the "Uniting to Combat Hunger" campaign to raise awareness and help put an end to food insecurity across the country.
VFW's "Uniting to Combat Hunger" Progress and Grant Opportunity
Since 2018, organizations affiliated with Humana and the VFW have provided more than 5.6 million meals to food insecurity agencies through the UTCH campaign! The efforts made by VFW Posts and Auxiliaries in conjunction with local Humana agents have been the key contributing factor to the campaign’s massive success.
In support of these amazing efforts, the VFW Foundation offers a UTCH Grant through which we provide up to $1,500 in reimbursement for donations of food and money made to nonprofits that directly address food insecurity. To learn more about this opportunity and its availability please visit vfw.org/grants.
For more information about UTCH, please contact the VFW Foundation at foundation@vfw.org.