{"id":477649,"date":"2025-06-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=477649"},"modified":"2025-06-12T20:24:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T20:24:57","slug":"initiatives-programs-ensure-food-security-for-fort-cavazos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=477649","title":{"rendered":"Initiatives, programs ensure food security for Fort Cavazos"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Chaplain (Capt.) Yuwei Bai, 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced, 11th Signal Brigade, organizes nonperishable food items in preparation for distribution during Fresh Food for Families June 5, 2025, at Phantom Warrior Stadium at Fort Cavazos, Texas. (U.S. Army photo by Heather Ashley, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs)
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\n Volunteers sort and organize fresh produce for distribution to families June 5, 2025, at Fort Cavazos\u2019 Phantom Warrior Stadium during the monthly Fresh Food for Families initiative, a partnership between the Garrison Religious Support Office and Central Texas Food Bank to provide food security to Fort Cavazos families. (U.S. Army photo by Heather Ashley, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs)
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FORT CAVAZOS, Texas \u2014<\/strong> Fort Cavazos\u2019 Garrison Religious Support Office works to ensure those at The Great Place are not burdened with food insecurity.<\/p>\n

Three food security programs \u2014 a food pantry, a monthly food distribution and a pilot initiative that offers commissary gift cards \u2014 help Fort Cavazos Soldiers know they and their families will not go hungry.<\/p>\n

Michael Miles, food security program specialist, who oversees the food security initiatives for the RSO, said food security comes down to a readiness issue in many ways.<\/p>\n

A Soldier who is not consumed with worry about his family can focus on the mission, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about a happy Soldier because his family is being taken care of,\u201d Miles said. \u201cHe\u2019s able to sleep, get a good night\u2019s rest \u2014 all of that plays a part of having a Soldier who\u2019s ready to deploy at a moment\u2019s notice, and as a former Soldier, it\u2019s very much a part of readiness because you\u2019re not worried about your family, you\u2019re more worried about how we\u2019re going to accomplish the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teresa Parris, an administrative support specialist with RSO, has been involved with the food security program since its inception and has witnessed firsthand the relief and emotion that come from easing just one burden.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen Soldiers cry; I have seen the relief from being able to feed their families,\u201d she said, adding providing food prevents Soldiers from having to choose between needs. \u201cWe take the food equation out of it, and now they can take care of the other things they need to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parris said it\u2019s also helpful for Soldiers and their family members to know even if the Soldier is away on deployment or rotation, the family can still receive the food they need.<\/p>\n

Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) cards<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Department of Defense pilot initiative launched Jan. 6 at Fort Cavazos to address food insecurity among active-duty service members and their families.<\/p>\n

The initiative, which provided $2.5 million in funds to be distributed through commissary gift cards in increments of $50, $100, $200 and $300 to eligible Fort Cavazos households, has distributed $190,000 thus far. Eligibility for this initiative is limited to active-duty service members in ranks E-1 to E-6 with dependents.<\/p>\n

Soldiers are referred for gift cards by either their first sergeant or company commander through an intake form in a SharePoint system to identify potential food insecurity. Miles will interview the Soldier and issue the initial gift card. At that time, the Soldier is also given a business card with a QR code to register for training and counseling with the Army Community Service\u2019s Financial Readiness Program. Soldiers can schedule their appointments with a financial counselor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe allow the Soldiers to be able to take action for themselves because they know their schedule better than we do,\u201d Miles said.<\/p>\n

When the initial financial readiness training and counseling is completed, the Soldier is eligible for a second card based on their established budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really good teamwork between us and ACS Financial Readiness and working with the Soldiers and making sure that we\u2019re dealing with any kind of food insecurities,\u201d Miles said.<\/p>\n

Since the initiative\u2019s inception, 16 Soldiers have worked their way out of the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means anything that was going on at that time, things have gotten fixed, and they\u2019re on the right track to a really good financial outcome,\u201d Miles said.<\/p>\n

Fresh Food for Families<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fresh Food for Families is a monthly food distribution program in partnership with the Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB) mobile pantry. From 8:30-10 a.m. on the first Thursday of each month, except holidays, dozens of military and civilian volunteers distribute a frozen protein (meat), nonperishable food items and fresh produce via a two-lane drive-through assembly line in the parking lot at Phantom Warrior Stadium.<\/p>\n

This initiative began in June 2024 in the parking lot at the Main Post Chapel. They saw 250 families that day and traffic clogged the roads surrounding the chapel, Parris said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe learned a lot that day,\u201d she said. \u201cWe learned very quickly this was not the place to have this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever since that initial distribution, Fresh Food for Families has been held at Phantom Warrior Stadium.<\/p>\n

RSO staff currently orders enough to provide food for 450 families, but they ensure no one leaves empty-handed.<\/p>\n

The next Fresh Food for Families distribution will be held 8:30-10 a.m. July 3 in the parking lot of Phantom Warrior Stadium. Recipients must enter from Tank Destroyer Boulevard and Comanche Avenue at the traffic light.<\/p>\n

Fresh Food for Families is open to any DOD ID cardholders. Registration is completed on-site and cars line up early each month.<\/p>\n

Food Pantry<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Main Post Food Pantry, located inside the Main Post Chapel at 320 Tank Destroyer Blvd., is open to DOD ID cardholders. Eligible cardholders must show ID and can visit the pantry once a month.<\/p>\n

Food in the pantry is provided by the CTFB and through other donations, often from individuals.<\/p>\n

While holiday food drives, like Feds Feed Families and unit-level collections, help stock the pantry, CTFB provides consistent support throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople eat 365 days a year; we cannot just depend on holiday drives,\u201d Parris explained. \u201cJust knowing we have at least one steady supply of stock is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miles agreed the partnership Fort Cavazos has with CTFB has been great.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only with Fresh Food for Families, but for our pantry, they\u2019ve just been remarkable in providing goods for our Soldiers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Those with a need can come in during the pantry\u2019s business hours, complete a brief intake and be escorted by staff or a volunteer to shop the shelves. Shopping is completed according to the household size.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who has a DOD ID card and needs some food security assistance, we are able to help,\u201d Miles said.<\/p>\n

Shelves inside the pantry are stocked with an assortment of canned vegetables and meats, boxed dinners and pastas, soups, cereals, shelf-stable milks and other non-perishable food items from the CTFB.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey give us a lot of shelf-stable items like shelf-stable chicken and shelf-stable tuna,\u201d Parris added. \u201cThat\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also keep baby formula on hand from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program.<\/p>\n

Thanks to a recent donation of a refrigerated case and a freezer from CTFB, the pantry also offers some proteins, fresh produce and other perishables.<\/p>\n

During a recent visit, the freezer held family-sized bags of chicken drumsticks and the refrigerator was stocked with eggplant, yellow squash, cucumbers and green leaf lettuce.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really depends on what the Central Texas Food Bank has,\u201d Miles said.<\/p>\n

The food pantry is open 1-4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 10-11 a.m. and 1-4:30 p.m. Wednesday; and 9:30-11 a.m. and 1-2 p.m. Friday.<\/p>\n

Volunteers are always welcome to help rotate stock and check for expired products in the food pantry and help distribute food for Fresh Food for Families.<\/p>\n

Miles said the volunteers are invaluable to the success of the food security programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just couldn\u2019t do it without the volunteers,\u201d Miles expressed. \u201cIt\u2019s just Soldier helping Soldier, neighbor helping neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about the Fort Cavazos RSO food security initiatives or to volunteer, call 254-286-5884, stop by the Main Post Chapel at 320 Tank Destroyer Blvd., visit online at home.army.mil\/cavazos\/units-tenants\/Garrison\/religious-support<\/em> or download their app, FCTX Chapels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Chaplain (Capt.) Yuwei Bai, 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced, 11th Signal Brigade, organizes nonperishable food items in preparation for distribution during Fresh Food for Families June 5, 2025, at Phantom Warrior Stadium at Fort Cavazos, Texas. (U.S. Army photo by Heather Ashley, Fort Cavazos Public Affairs) (Photo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477651,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-477649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=477649"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":477654,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477649\/revisions\/477654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/477651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=477649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=477649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=477649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}