Special thanks to Nutrition Insight for helping Nutrient Survival get the message out about food insecurity in the military.
US-based food-tech company Nutrient Survival, which develops Special Ops Grade nutrition, is on a mission to shed light on the issue of food scarcity among military members, starting with a turkey drive this Thanksgiving, November 23, in support of US Army Pacific Chaplains’ Operation Helping Hand to show appreciation to active duty military personnel for their service.
“As a veteran-owned and operated company, we know what it means to serve. That’s why we love those who selflessly serve – military, law enforcement, and first responders and are committed to helping them as much as we can, however we can. This year’s donation for turkeys came at a time of need and we intend to be there again in the future,” Eric Christianson, former army ranger and CEO of Nutrient Survival, tells Nutrition Insight.
“No US holiday means family more than Thanksgiving. The fact is that when you raise your hand to serve in the armed forces, you give up certain things that the rest of us take for granted. For many of our 170,000 service members serving on deployments or abroad, often that means giving up family.”
“By nature of the work, soldiers spend more time exerting physical and mental energy under stressful situations. Even in training, the situations are designed to emulate combat where things are going 24/7. There are no breaks in a war zone,” says Christianson
“There’s also no grocery stores around the corner to grab fresh meat, dairy or produce. These are all the considerations that the military has considered in designing rations and the exacting nutrient-dense standards they have. Soldiers in these situations need more nutrient-dense calories to fuel them to operate at their best.”
Recent data from the Rand Corporation shows that food insecurity is a critical issue for military families, as a first year soldier with E-1 rank receives US$1,917.60 gross a month.
The holiday season highlights the problems even further. About 30% of military members who live on base report they experience food scarcity, 7% more than those residing off base who are categorized as food insecure. One of the key findings of the analysis is how Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) factored into food insecurity for members living on base.
