LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Humana and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) announced the results of the 2024 Uniting to Combat Hunger campaign and expanded the scope of the 2025 campaign during the 125th VFW National Convention today at the Kentucky International Convention Center.
The campaign exceeded its 2024 goal of 1 million meals to fight food insecurity among veterans. This brings the total to more than 5.6 million meals provided since the two organizations established the campaign in 2018. Humana employees teamed up with 158 VFW Posts and Auxiliaries in 41 states, gathering more than 102,000 pounds of food and nearly $183,000 for local food banks.
In addition to these results, Humana and the VFW have announced they will partner with Volunteers of America to focus on another prominent issue for the 2025 campaign – homelessness. After seven years solely focused on combatting food insecurity, local-level efforts will also focus on the additional needs of homeless veterans to help provide the stability they need to prioritize their health.
“Food insecurity and homelessness are both serious risks for suicide and other health issues. We continue our collaboration with the VFW on the Uniting to Combat Hunger Campaign to ensure our nation’s veterans have access to healthy foods and resources that can help decrease the risk of common health problems – both physical and mental,” said Tracy Nolan, Senior Vice President of Humana’s MarketPoint organization and also this year’s keynote speaker at the VFW National Convention opening ceremony. “We have a longstanding commitment to veterans, service members and their families, and this is just one way we can help provide resources when and where they need them.”
According to a recent report by the Military Family Advisory Network, one in five military and veteran families who responded to their survey said they have experienced food insecurity. Nearly half of the respondents mentioned barriers to consistently eating balanced meals, citing the cost of healthy food items as the primary barrier.
“The VFW is honored to be part of this vital initiative that has raised more than 1 million meals for the fifth consecutive year,” said VFW National Commander Duane Sarmiento. “And we remain committed to working alongside Humana to fight food insecurity among our military and veteran families.”
As part of the initiative to address food insecurity, volunteers came together during the Convention July 27 to pack 4,000 seed packets for distribution to VFW Posts and Auxiliaries as well as community gardens. This Seed Project partnership with the Society of Saint Andrew will yield approximately 72,000 pounds or nearly 2.9 million servings of fresh produce for local communities.
The Uniting to Combat Hunger Campaign and other important topics important to veteran health and well-being will be part of the discussion at the 125th VFW National Convention, which runs through Aug. 1. Humana and the VFW have a longstanding relationship spanning 12 years of support for veterans.
To learn more about the Uniting to Combat Hunger campaign, visit www.vfw.org/uniting-to-combat-hunger.