Serving Soldiers: Fort Cavazos leads initiatives, pilot program for food security for warfighter

FORT CAVAZOS, Texas - The Fort Cavazos Garrison Religious Support Office heads up several food security initiatives to assist Soldiers and their families at the Great Place.

Fort Cavazos Food Pantry

The Fort Cavazos Food Pantry is a food resource for families at The Great Place. Housed in the Main Post Chapel, the food pantry has many shelf staples and families can use the pantry once a month.

"We started in one room, and it's just grown immensely," said Teresa Parris, administrative support specialist, Fort Cavazos Garrison Chaplains Office. "At first, I would (estimate) we were feeding 15 to 20 families. Now we (serve) well over 50 families (per month on average)."

Parris highlighted the importance of year-round donations, as they are required to keep the pantry stocked.

"Although we are grateful for the holiday food drives, and we will never turn away a donation, families eat every single day of the year," she said, adding the need increases during the summer when children are at home instead of at school.

Parris also encouraged those who donate to think of the children as they select items to give to the food pantry.

"We're feeding children," she emphasized. "It's easy to say, 'Well, they'll have to eat what you give them.' We all know kids don't just eat what you give them. If we give them ravioli, or we give them a Snack Pack of pudding, we know they're going to eat it."

Since the food pantry cannot currently hold perishable items they connect families with food pantries in the area, ranging from Lampasas to Lorena, Texas, that do carry the perishable items they may need.

Parris said in the past, units and different directorates have organized food drives of their own on the installation and turned it into a fun competition to see who can gather the most food items or volunteer the most.

"There are lots of people out there doing great things for the Soldiers," she said.

Chaplain (Capt.) Eugene Savarimuthu, chaplain resource manager, Fort Cavazos RSO, said the food pantry also receives donations from different congregations on the installation, anonymous donors and the commissaries through the Feds Feeds Families program.

Donors also give gift cards that allow volunteers to purchase food for the pantry.

Parris praised the food pantry's volunteers, and Savarimuthu noted one volunteer once used the pantry themselves.

"She turned around and has helped (the food pantry) for almost two years," he said. "

The food pantry's hours of operation are 1-4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 10-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. Wednesday; and 9:30-11 a.m. and 1-2 p.m. Friday. It is closed on weekends, holidays and training holidays.

Department of Defense ID cardholders, including retirees, DOD civilians and dependents and veterans, are eligible to use the food pantry. Those who use it must be prepared to show their ID.

For more information, contact Teresa Parris at 254-288-6545 or Michael Miles, Food Security Program specialist, at 254-286-5884.

Fresh Foods for Families

Fresh Foods for Families is a monthly event where the RSO, in partnership with the Central Texas Food Bank, distributes thousands of pounds of food to Fort
Cavazos families.

Savarimuthu said the soft launch of Fresh Foods for Families in June 2024 served 250 families with only 13 volunteers. Since then the initiative has grown to serve over 400 families with 24,000 pounds of food being distributed at the Sept. 5, 2024, grand opening.

"It's not only just a distribution of food - it's a pride and joy and community service," he said. "Even some of the brand new Soldiers (volunteers), privates, and there are others that I witnessed, they were in tears. They said, 'Sir, this is the first time, ever, I gave something to someone.'"

Cars line the Phantom Warrior Stadium parking lot and receive their food items in a drive-thru manner. The goal is for each family to receive around 40 pounds of food consisting of a variety of items including fresh produce, grains and protein.

Savarimuthu touched on the long-standing partnership between Fort Cavazos and
the CTFB.

"The partnership was not just created through Fresh Foods for Families," he said. "They have already built a partnership that goes back almost 10 years, providing over 600 turkeys and produce every Thanksgiving. (Fresh Foods for Families) is an extension of what they've been doing to support our Soldiers and families."

Fresh Foods for Families takes place 9-11 a.m. on the first Thursday of each month at Phantom Warrior Stadium. The next Fresh Foods for Families event is scheduled for Feb. 6. Those who attend must enter the parking lot from Tank Destroyer Boulevard and Comanche Avenue at the traffic light.

Those who wish to volunteer during the event simply need to arrive at the stadium parking lot between 7:30 and 8 a.m.

DeCA gift cards

In a pilot initiative that began Jan. 6, $2.5 million was donated to be distributed to families in need through Defense Commissary Agency gift cards. There is no other initiative like it in the Army currently.

"The Department of Defense developed a strategy to tackle service members' food insecurity," said Chaplain (Maj.) John Lee, operations chaplain, Fort Cavazos RSO. "They chose Fort Cavazos to run a pilot program to address Soldier's food insecurity. They gave (the funds) to our garrison to distribute DeCA, or commissary, cards to Soldiers who are struggling with their monthly food costs."

With the unit leader's referral, Soldiers ranked private through staff sergeant can receive a DeCA card.

"The only requirement for the first issuance of the card is just a referral," Lee said. "We also developed a very nice food cost calculation based on FDSCA (Federal Defense Support of Civil Authorities) guidance. Based on the age and number of family members, the program we developed (calculates) the DeCA card amount."

Lee went on to explain if more support is needed after the issuance of the first DeCA card, the recipient must attend a financial readiness class hosted by Army Community Service. Once they complete the class, a finance counselor with ACS will provide budget guidance for the family.

"As long as they prove they are following the guidance, they can get issued a second or third card," Lee said. "The amount (of funds) is recommended by the finance counselor starting with the second issuance. After the first issuance there is no requirement except for their leader's referral."

Lee said in figuring out how to calculate what funds families need for food they discovered some Soldiers were spending a remarkable amount of their salary on groceries.

"Some ranks spend more than 33% of their salary just to buy their monthly groceries," he said. "We were very surprised to see that, and I think the program will help our Soldiers that are struggling with their food costs every month a lot. And because of this program, we are encouraging Soldiers to learn how they can manage their finances responsibly in conjunction with ACS."

Cards are issued 1-3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday at RSO. The financial readiness class takes place from 1:30-2:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the Main Post Chapel.

Impact

The impact of these resources has been nothing but positive, and RSO vows to
continue serving those in need.

"We think we are supporting others," Lee said. "By supporting others, we are also supporting (ourselves) spiritually. We feel grateful because of our service to others. This
is reciprocal."

Savarimuthu agreed.

"I believe that Jesus Christ fed people with food and then God's Kingdom," he said. "And the Religious Support Office's mission is to provide spiritual wellbeing, and help people (for the) greater glory of God. Whether you belong to a congregation, or you have faith in God or believe in a higher power or not, it feels good doing something for someone."

Parris agreed, adding that the privacy of those who need assistance is of the
utmost importance.

"Any time they come here for food assistance it's all very confidential," she said. "Nobody gets this information from us. It's already hard enough to ask for help. I've worn those shoes, and I know how it makes you feel."

The RSO Facebook page, facebook.com/FortCavazosRSO, will post updates should any changes be made to any of the resources mentioned above.

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