As Americans prepare for Thanksgiving, veterans face food insecurity in significant numbers: study

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Veterans facing food insecurity in significant numbers this Thanksgiving, study shows

Jim Lorraine, ret. Air Force Lt. Col. and CEO of America’s Warrior Partnership, speaks about what his nonprofit does and how civilians can assist veterans.

This Thanksgiving, one in nine working-age veterans is facing food insecurity, according to Feeding America. 

Of the thousands of veterans surveyed by Yale School of Medicine’s Veterans Aging Cohort Study, 24% reported being food insecure. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.”

“Veterans come to us because they’re overcharged on their credit cards, cars are being repossessed, they’re being foreclosed on, or they’re being evicted from their homes,” retired Air Force Lt. Col. and America’s Warrior Partnership (AWP) CEO Jim Lorraine told Fox News Digital. “It’s the economy.” 

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Marines have dinner at a Thanksgiving celebration at Camp Pendleton in San Clemente, California, on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. Marines from the 5th Marine Regiment were treated by the Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Lorraine said the veterans who are most impacted are those on fixed income or veterans who are severely disabled on fixed income.

He served nine combat deployments as a flight nurse and retired as a lieutenant colonel and the deputy command surgeon for the United States Special Operations Command after 22 years of service. He now takes care of his wife, who is also a veteran. This holiday season, he is asking people to ask themselves how they can give back.

“Veterans volunteer at a 90% higher rate than those who didn’t serve in the military,” he said, asking those who know about AWP to tell a veteran how the nonprofit can help them ahead of any crisis they may face. 

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A Thanksgiving meal set on a table with a turkey and all the side dishes. (Adobe Stock)

He also suggested how people can help the cause.

“At checkout, whether it’s to donate a turkey or canned goods or to go to the local American Legion or VWF that have events,” Lorraine said. “Live with your heart.”

The Air Force veteran does believe that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made progress helping those who served but said that only about 50% of our nation’s 17.5 million veterans are enrolled in the VA. 

Volunteers serve up plates filled with all the traditional Thanksgiving food at the Long Beach Rescue Mission in Long Beach, California, on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)

The National Library of Medicine also found that veterans struggling with food insecurity are nearly four times more likely to deal with suicidal ideation than their more financially stable counterparts. The same veterans struggling to put food on the table may also be impacted by transition challenges, limited job opportunities, insufficient transition education and difficulties applying military skills to civilian roles.

Despite all that, Lorraine still stands by serving in the U.S. military.

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“I think the military is a great way to go forward,” he said for young people who don’t have higher education opportunities. “Join the military. It changed my life.”

AWP just celebrated its 10-year anniversary, and the nonprofit has helped nearly 61,000 veterans nationwide over those years. For more information about the resources it provides, click here.