Many Americans once viewed the US military as a reliable road to a middle-class life. But, despite record-breaking military spending in recent years, new research shows that one-in-six military families don’t have consistent access to healthy food. So, how is it that service members and their families are finding basic necessities out of reach?

In this episode, we talk about childcare, spouse employment, frequent moves, and food stamps with folks who have wrestled with all of these issues firsthand. And we ask the experts, are the new policies to address these problems going to be enough?

Statement, Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman, Department of Defense spokesperson:

“We understand the extraordinary pressures military families face and we have made progress, but we know that there is more work to be done. We will continue to listen, learn, and lead on issues we know are critical to stability and the unique challenges of military life.”

GUESTS*:

Rae Ellen Holberg, military spouse and mother of four; Shannon Razsadin, president and executive director of MFAN; Sarah Streyder, executive director of Secure Families Initiative; Nils Olsen, company commander in the US Army; Brandon Archuleta, senior fellow at the Center of New American Security

*The views of all guests are their own, and do not reflect the policies or positions of the US Army, United States Department of Defense or the United States Government.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Food Insecurity Among US Veterans and Military Families, Center for Strategic & International Studies

Food Insecurity, Military Family Advisory Network

Allowance for the Most At-risk Military Families Begins To Take Shape, Military Times

Taking Care of Our Service Members and Families, Department of Defense

Who Signs Up to Fight? Makeup of U.S. Recruits Shows Glaring Disparity, New York Times