WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — The organization Blue Star Families is gearing up for its second Nourish the Service event. It helps hundreds of local military families struggling with food insecurity.
Struggling with bills is an issue familiar to many military families. Jessi Britt is a military wife and mom of two. She moved to Tampa just before the coronavirus pandemic began. When her lease was up, her landlord upped her rent by $800.
Her family had to move, downsize, and change school districts.
"I may not be able to give back monetarily right now, I may not be able to donate, but at least I can hopefully make someone's day," Britt said.
Britt spent her Wednesday morning in Wesley Chapel at Support the Troops. She and other Blue Star family volunteers sifted through pallets of donations to prepare for Friday's donation distribution event.
Those donations will soon head to MacDill Airforce Base, then into the homes of military families across Tampa.
"It's a big thing for me to give back," Britt said. "I've been in a position where food insecurity has been an issue. I've been in a position where I possibly didn't have somewhere to live."
You'll find that many of the people handing out donations have also needed them at one point or another.
"It was hard. It was really hard," Suzy Malloy shared, thinking back on what it was like moving from city to city for her husband's military career. She's now the chapter director for Blue Star Families Tampa. "I really could not believe how little my husband made being an active duty navy seal and he was just not bringing home the bacon, even though he was putting his best foot forward at work."
Malloy organizes events like Nourish the Troops to help lighten the load for military families, like the Britts.
"It's hard," Britt said. "It's hard. And then add into it, my husband is gone, he just got back a week ago from being gone again... it's hard."
Hard, but made a little easier with a military community eager to help.
The Nourish the Troops event will take place at 8 a.m. at Hangar 4 on MacDill Airforce Base. For more details on how to get involved, click here.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.