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Food Security Resources and Support Programs

Overview

 While it’s important to fuel ourselves and our families with nutritious meals, many barriers keep us from doing so, including the rising costs and availability of healthy food. If you’re experiencing challenges with accessing healthy, affordable food, know you’re not alone. Resources and support are available to anyone in need.

Defense Department resources

Be Financially Ready

Achieve and maintain financial well-being with the Sen$e app. It’s free and made for military life.

The DOD remains committed to helping today’s warfighters remain mission-ready, which includes ensuring our military community has access to affordable, nutritious food.

  • Military OneSource Community Resource Finder
    Find food banks and community food resources organized by state using this extract from the Community Resource Finder.
  • Defense Commissary Agency Benefits
    Learn about nutrition tips and how commissaries promote food security by providing quality products at low prices.
  • Military and Family Support Centers
    Installation-based Military and Family Support Centers are a one-stop shop for family readiness information and services.
  • TRICARE Food Insecurity
    This webpage defines food insecurity and includes links to helpful resources.
  • TRICARE: Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, Overseas Program
    The WIC Overseas Program offers eligible participants living overseas nutritious food, tips on how to prepare balanced meals, nutrition and health screenings and other resources.
  • Family Supplemental Subsistence Allowance
    FSSA is available for service members serving overseas with at least one dependent in their households (not including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands or Guam).
  • Basic Needs Allowance
    The BNA is a monthly allowance for active-duty service members with dependents whose gross household income falls below 150% of federal poverty guidelines.
  • CHAMP Food Security Resources
    The Consortium for Health and Military Performance website describes additional resources to expand your food budget.
  • Financial Readiness
    Find a personal financial counselor, learn about your military benefits and entitlements, and access helpful tools to better manage your money and your savings.
  • MyPlate
    The MyPlate website allows you to set food group targets, create a customized eating plan, discover budget-friendly recipes and much more.

USDA nutrition assistance programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers several nutrition assistance programs to increase food security, reduce hunger and provide nutrition education.

Find Your Local WIC Program

Get contact information for the Women, Infants and Children program near you.

Food Security Toolkit for Leaders

Military OneSource’s Food Security Toolkit For Leaders provides resources and information to help leaders assist their service members with access to affordable, nutritious meals. These include:

  • Tips for Getting Healthy Food on a Budget (coming soon)
    This fact sheet provides leaders with a variety of resources offered by Military OneSource, the Defense Department and the USDA that ensure service members can access affordable, nutritious meals.
  • Resources for Managing Your Finances (coming soon)
    This flyer addresses common financial challenges service members may face and lists free resources that can provide solutions.
  • Key Financial Benefits for Service Members (coming soon)
    This fact sheet informs service members of the financial benefits beyond base pay that are available to them.
  • Talking Points for Military Leaders on Food and Nutrition Readiness (coming soon)
    This one-pager can be used to start conversations about food insecurity.
  • Healthy Eating on a Budget: Resources at the Ready (coming soon)
    This presentation can be used to brief service members about the importance of proper nutrition and available resources that support access to healthy, affordable foods.

Tips and resources for healthy eating

Learn how to maintain a healthy, balanced diet with these resources, podcasts and information on nutrition support.

  • Nutrition & Fitness
    Military OneSource’s Nutrition & Fitness topic page provides practical and fresh content as well as initiatives and programs that will motivate you to maintain healthy living and manage your health in creative ways.
  • Getting to the Core of WIC podcast
    In this podcast, host Bruce Moody speaks with Military Community and Family Policy Program Analyst Courtney Paolicelli, along with former WIC recipient and community health worker with the Uniformed Services University Dakota Davis, about how WIC works, who is eligible, special considerations for military families when calculating eligibility and the WIC Overseas Program for military families stationed OCONUS.
  • Faster Than Fast Food podcast
    Hear tips from a registered dietician and a culinary educator on how to prepare nutritious meals and snacks that are less expensive, more nutritious and faster than fast food.
  • Health & Wellness Coaching
    Find out how Military OneSource health and wellness coaches can assist you with making a plan to reach your desired goals, keep you on course and celebrate your achievements./li>
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Stay fit and mission ready with MyPlate.

Set food group targets, create a customized eating plan, discover budget-friendly recipes and much more.

Shopping at the commissary

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Get at least 25% in overall savings by shopping at the commissary.

Find out how the commissary can save you money on groceries and household items,  helping you to stretch your budget further.

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Order groceries from the commissary and schedule free curbside pickup with the Commissary CLICK2GO app.

Check out the Commissary CLICK2GO podcast to hear about how the Commissary CLICK2GO app can help with meal planning, food budgeting and reaching your nutritional goals.

Financial resources

Military OneSource offers several resources to help service members manage their finances successfully.

  • Personal Finance
    Learn some personal finance basics like how to pay down debt, manage a checking account, choose good investments and create a family budget. Discover how to create a financial plan for every phase of your life.
  • Resources for Financial Stress
    Find out how to use military benefits and tools to ease your worries and reach your financial goals.
  • Financial Counseling
    Financial counseling gives you an opportunity to talk to a trained professional — one who is familiar with the issues that affect service members — about your questions and receive referrals to services and programs that meet your specific needs.
  • Finance Courses
    Developed by financial experts who understand the military, these courses help service members and their families understand consumer credit, create smart financial goals, set a realistic spending plan, make smart money moves, negotiate when buying a car and avoid debt during their next PCS.
Image of Savings Piggy Bank

Achieve and maintain financial well-being with the Sen$e app.

The Sen$e app is free and made for military life.

Finding healthy recipes

Search for easy, low-cost recipes on the Defense Commissary Agency website and MyPlate Kitchen.

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