ABILENE, Texas — For many military families, holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are often spent somewhere on a base instead of back at home.
To make this time of year a bit easier, national nonprofit Operation Homefront works to provide free Thanksgiving dinners for active military members and their families through its Holiday Meals for the Military initiative.
On Nov. 18, volunteers welcomed said families to Abilene's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6873, 1049 Veterans Dr., smiling and waving as they carried packaged boxes into trunks and opened car doors.
"First time we've paired up with Operation Homefront and I think it's gonna be the first of many years," Republic Services general manager Corey Matthews said.
Matthews works in both the Abilene and San Angelo area and his team provided approximately 12 volunteers to help load boxes.
"And then we have a big veterans presence across our company," he said. "So pairing up with Operation Homefront for this event, give back for Thanksgiving, just really hits home for a lot of our employees but also just, they know the sacrifice that a lot of these families do for our country for us just to come out here and give them a 'Thanks,' hand them a turkey, means a lot to them and it means a lot to us."
Packages included a turkey, stuffing, canned goods and more just ahead of the holiday season.
Servicemembers were able to sign-up for a meal ahead of time, allowing for a smooth drive-thru process.
"Prior to all this, we basically coordinated with all our airmen to put the word out there of like, 'If you need a meal, if you don't have money for a meal, let us know, we'll get you on the list, take care of Thanksgiving," Dyess Air Force Base First Sergeant counsel Michael Summers said.
Summers has been volunteering with Operation Homefront for the last three years now. If there are leftover meals at the end of the event, he added, those boxes are given to additional service members.
For the family members themselves, the general sentiment was all the same: "It's been very helpful for my family and it helps us out 'cuz we usually do a get together with all the younger airmen that don't get to go home to see their family, so it's very helpful," attendee George said.
Another military member, Brandon Brown, echoed a similar response.
"It's an awesome opportunity," he said. "It's good for the military to get out and just support the people, the military people and other families, especially with money situations and whatnot and having big families. It's very awesome they wanna reach out and help everyone."
This is an annual event hosted in partnership with military bases across the United States.
Visit operationhomefront to learn more.
