The key factors that make up military life were found to be significant contributors to food insecurity for military families and could hinder the ability of the armed forces to recruit and retain troops if it isn’t addressed, according to two reports released this week.
Frequent moves, including to areas with a high cost of living, and high spouse unemployment are two of the factors unique to military life that were found to impact the ability of military families to purchase enough nutritious food. Other factors identified include adding a new family member, unexpected expenses, natural disasters and the rising cost of living, according to reports from the Military Family Advisory Network and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Food insecurity among U.S. veterans and military families is a national security concern: it multiplies stress on active-duty personnel, diminishes well-being among service members and their children — who are more likely to serve in the military as adults — and may hinder recruitment for the armed services,” according to the report from CSIS, a Washington-based think tank.
Shannon Razsadin, executive director of Military Family Advisory Network, a nonprofit advocacy group, said it’s incredibly important to understand it’s not always a money management issue.