The Greater Fayetteville Chamber Military Affairs Council will host a food drive on Thursday, benefitting Fort Bragg Armed Services YMCA, to support service members, their families, and veterans who are struggling with food insecurity or financial hardship as the holiday season draws near.
The drive, called Operation Patriot Pantry, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Highland Shopping Center parking lot located at 2800 Raeford Road in Fayetteville. Donations will be collected in a moving truck provided by the moving company Two Men and a Truck. The drive aims to collect non-perishable food items that will be distributed by the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) on Fort Bragg.
Jeremy Hester, executive director of the ASYMCA, told CityView the drive aims to collect “shelf-stable, healthy items.” Though the drive is focused on collecting food items, other donations like baby items and hygiene products will also be accepted, said Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Ferd Irizarry, chair of the Military Affairs Council.
Irizarry told CityView the urgency behind Operation Patriot Pantry was spurred by the recently ended federal government shutdown, during which service members were not guaranteed to receive pay. He said that junior enlisted service members, typically ranks from E-1 to E-4, are most at risk for financial strain.
The 2024 Blue Star Families Military Lifestyle Survey found that financial strain is one of the top concerns among active-duty service members and families and can cause food insecurity when costs of relocation, child care, or other expenses add up. The survey found that 18% of active-duty families faced food insecurity over a 12-month period from 2024 to 2025. In August 2024, The Assembly reported that more than 31% of soldiers on Fort Bragg had issues accessing enough food.
“We know that even in normal times, there are soldiers and families that are under economic stress, and that they use the food pantry at the Armed Services YMCA,” Irizarry said.
The Fort Bragg Armed Services YMCA is an on-post organization that provides free and low-cost programming to active-duty families and veterans, often focused on providing resources to junior enlisted service members. Among the programs and services offered, the ASYMCA operates a food pantry on Fort Bragg.
Hester said the food pantry has operated under the organization since about 2019, and typically serves about 300 families per month. As the holidays approach, he said that number is closer to 500 families.
Food assistance through the pantry is most often used as a temporary resource among military families, utilized for a few months to help fill in gaps that families face, Hester said. He said the YMCA often sees those who have received assistance through the organization come back to volunteer.
“I think anybody can relate to the idea that we all need help from time to time. You know, we live in a very expensive time compared to the last couple decades. The military is no exception,” Hester told CityView.
The food pantry typically hosts nine distribution days per month, Hester said, where families can receive food. The pantry also adds special distribution days when they receive donations that need to go out quickly, like fresh produce or meat.
Operation Patriot Pantry marks the first collaboration between the Fort Bragg ASYMCA and the chamber’s Military Affairs Council. Both Hester and Irizarry said the partnership has been motivating and that they plan to collaborate on more programs and initiatives in the future.
“We hope to make this a yearly event,” Irizarry told CityView. “It’s our community’s way of saying to the families, ‘We want you to have a great holiday, and we understand that everybody, especially in the government service, could be under some sort of financial stress.’”
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story stated that the food drive was a collaboration between the Military Affairs Council and the Fort Bragg Armed Services YMCA. The drive is being hosted by the Military Affairs Council to support the Fort Bragg Armed Services YMCA. CityView apologizes for this error.
