KITSAP COUNTY, Wash. — Hundreds of military families spent Veterans Day in a Walmart parking lot in Bremerton, but they weren’t shopping. They were receiving Thanksgiving meal kits and grocery gift cards through Operation Homefront’s Holiday Meals for Military program.

The national nonprofit says it served 350 families in Kitsap County this year and placed another 100 on a waiting list, a sign of rising need among service members and veterans. Operation Homefront reports a 57% increase in food-related financial-assistance requests nationwide over the past year, even before the recent government shutdown.

“It helps us — especially with the government shutdown going on — it really helps us support ourselves for the holidays,” said Joe Colvin, an active-duty sailor stationed at Naval Base K

See Full Page