A quarter of military personnel struggle to feed their families, too scared to ... trends now
More than a quarter of serving military members struggle to put enough food on the table and many are too worried about committing career suicide to ask for help, warns a Pentagon report.
An exhaustive study by RAND Corporation researchers paints a grim picture of military life, with 25.8 percent of service people unable to provide their households with enough food to 'live an active, healthy life.'
Those most affected were at the start of their careers, serving in the Army, or to a lesser extent in the Navy, frequently living on bases in Texas, Georgia, California, North Carolina, and Virginia, researchers found.
Many complained that they often had to skip meals, that grocery shopping trips did not fill pantries for as long as expected, or that they simply could not afford to put balanced meals on the table.
Worse still, many refuse to ask for help, in case commanders thought they managed their finances poorly, hurting their career chances and even leading to a loss of security clearance.
The 181-page document, which was produced for Congress, is just the latest study to spotlight the struggles of cash-strapped service members, and it comes as the Army faces its worst recruitment crisis in decades.
'The survey indicates that a high percentage — a quarter of people — are reporting being food insecure. And that's a high level,' Beth Asch, a RAND economist who co-authored the report, told DailyMail.com.
Using data from 2018, researchers found that two thirds of the service members without enough food were in their early or the middle of their careers. Many were from an ethnic or racial minority.
Those living on military bases were the most profoundly affected — 30 percent lacked enough food to keep their families healthy, compared to 23 percent for service members living off post.
Even so, only 14 percent of those in need reported using food banks or financial support schemes to help them make ends meet in the previous 12 months.
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