The Barbee family spends most of its time at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. Lee Barbee, an Army service member, was in a motor vehicle accident in Hagerstown in 2014. Since then, the family – consisting of Lee’s wife, Cassandra, and his daughter, Natalie, have been on the road to recovery.
And thanks to Operation Homefront, the road has one less hurdle this holiday season. A meal. The Barbee family was one of 300 local, active-duty military families who received supplies for a holiday meal Dec. 6 in Clinton. The families also received a bag full of cleaning supplies donated by Procter and Gamble.
“The bags are so full we have a staff of volunteers that are lifting the bags to carry them out to the car. In these bags you will find two large bags that are filled with nonperishable items, canned goods, craft products — anything for baking and vegetables that would help prepare for a holiday meal,” Vivian Dietrich, the regional director for Operation Homefront, said. “We have some Procter and Gamble cleaning supplies to clean up after the holiday meal. It is all packed full and inside a beautiful tote bag which is reusable for the families. It is quite a haul.”
Each meal kit distributed will also include redeemable coupons for perishable groceries necessary for a holiday meal.
The Operation Homefront Holiday Meals for Military program began Thanksgiving 2009 as the result of a chance encounter in a supermarket in Utica, N.Y. near Fort Drum. A soldier, his wife and infant had a handful of grocery items they could not afford, so a Beam Inc. employee picked up the $12 cost for the groceries. Since that time, the program has grown from initially providing 500 meal kits to military families in 2009 to providing 12,000 meals to military families this year, according to Dietrich.
To be eligible for the free meal supplies, the military families had to be active-duty with an E6 and below pay grade. In addition, each family was required to register for the event online. According to Dietrich, families selected from the registry have “unusual circumstances.”
“(Getting the meal) means a whole lot. It’s a great experience for my daughter, especially. This brings so much for us for the holidays – just that peace of mind that we are not alone, and people are supportive,” Cassandra Barbee said. “We don’t have any family close to us. Operation Homefront has helped us a couple of times. We were here last year for this event so we really, really enjoy it. It’s a little treat because it’s one less thing to stress about.”
During the four-hour pick-up event, children were also treated to fun activities such as making crafts, enjoying cookies and hot chocolate and even visiting with Santa. Children were given a plush toy when visiting with Santa and received free fleece blankets, too.
Dietrich said “there is no question” that the organization’s program is a need for military families across the country. As a former military spouse herself, she is proud of the 55 volunteers, many of whom are military, who dedicated their time to spread some holiday cheer to other military families in need.
“It’s overwhelming when you see a family come in and literally break down and cry after seeing the groceries. It gives you the signal that the budget is tight. I think everybody can identify with the fact that you go through the line at the grocery store and you’re like, ‘what? I spent that much?’ To be able to ensure that their refrigerator is filled over the holidays – what a great gift,” Dietrich said. “Out of all the things you can give them – to have the satisfaction of knowing that no one in the family is going to go hungry. If you can take that edge off the budget, then maybe there is a little more they can do to make their personal holiday wishes come true.”