Organization provides holiday help for military families in Bremerton, WA

Military families receive food donations, gift cards in Bremerton

Operation Homefront is making sure military families have a happy holiday season this year.

BREMERTON, Wash. - On Veterans Day, about 350 military families packed the Walmart parking lot in Bremerton to receive food and gift certificates for Thanksgiving.

The group Operation Homefront, along with Walmart, Swire Coca-Cola, and Johnstone Supply, helped out hundreds of military families on Tuesday.

Families received meal kits, groceries, and gift cards to help them prepare Thanksgiving meals.

What they're saying:

"Military, you don’t get paid much. So, anything helps because holidays are expensive. So, just take a little bit off our plate, and it helps out a lot," said Nyela Harvell. 

Harvell’s husband is in the Navy. Her family just welcomed their first child and is celebrating their first holiday as a military family.

"We’re just here to say thank you and try to relieve a little of that financial burden and say we have you covered for Thanksgiving," said Kelli Fagan, the senior regional director of Operation Homefront.

By the numbers:

She told FOX 13 Seattle that 25% of military families have a hard time putting food on the table. Military members tell us that struggle has only increased this year.

"Especially now with this government shutdown, and I just had a baby. So, we’re like back and forth to the grocery store," said Marissa Gonsalez, a lance corporal in the Marines. 

She says her family has been unsure if the shutdown will mean they lose a paycheck, which would be hard to manage.

"We normally go grocery shopping when we get paid. So, it's definitely planning ahead. What do we need? Do we have enough until this day," she said. 

Walmart is hosting a campaign where shoppers can round up their purchases to support Operation Homefront.

Walmart says they will match donations up to $1 million dollars.

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