Military families relocating to four more areas can receive a $125 grocery stipend to redeem for food, beverages and baby essentials, according to the nonprofit Military Family Advisory Network.
New programs have launched at Naval Station Norfolk and the Hampton Roads area in Virginia, as well as at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Programs launch within the next few weeks at installations in the San Diego, California, area and around Seattle and Tacoma, Washington.
The additions will bring the total number of installations served by MFAN’s Fresh Funds program to 17 across six states.
The other areas where the Fresh Funds program operates are Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, Texas, and Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and MCAS New River in North Carolina.
Families in the areas can request the assistance from MFAN directly through its website.
The program was established in response to MFAN’s research over the years that has found military families often face significant out-of-pocket costs when making permanent change of station moves, which can exacerbate financial problems. In the nonproit’s most recent survey, MFAN found that more than 40% of military family respondents reported low or very low food security.
MFAN’s recent research found that more than 60% of active-duty families who made moves in the past two years paid more than $1,000 out of pocket for expenses related to their move, over and above what the Defense Department pays to move them.
For example, during these relocations, families must replace food, cleaning supplies and other items they couldn’t bring from their previous locations.
MFAN is partnering with Instacart, an online grocery delivery and pickup service, and the program includes delivery of the items to the families.
“Meeting military families where they are — especially during the disruption of a relocation — requires partners like Instacart who share our commitment to making food easier to access,” said Shannon Razsadin, chief executive officer of MFAN, in a statement to Military Times. “Our research shows food insecurity remains a serious challenge for too many military families, and partnerships like this are an important part of the solution.”
How it works
The program starts with MFAN’s PCS Pantry Restock Box to newly arriving families who have signed up. Service members with at least one dependent are eligible, regardless of rank.
The box is stocked with pantry staples, cleaning supplies and paper goods and delivered to families’ homes. Those who need help with additional food can receive a one-time Fresh Funds code for a $125 grocery stipend, for up to three months, to order groceries and essentials through Instacart. The program doesn’t include military commissaries.
Instacart has partnered with MFAN since 2024, with more than 6,000 military families benefiting from the PCS Box program to date.
“Moving a family is difficult enough. We should make the transition as easy and seamless as possible for military families, and that starts with making sure there’s food in the fridge when they arrive,” said Casey Aden-Wansbury, vice president and head of global public policy at Instacart.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
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