WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo — As inflation continues to keep budgets tight, nonprofits like Operation Homefront are working to ease the strain on budgets of military families.
“This is one way we can help them thrive. We can take some of that financial burden, the cost of supplies and backpacks, off of them,” said Operation Home Front Senior Area Manager Sarah Cheesman.
Operation Homefront gave out more than 300 backpacks full of school supplies Wednesday afternoon to families at Whiteman Air Force Base.
Single mother Major Jackie said she felt a mix of emotions preparing her daughter for her first year of elementary school.
“It’s nice to have that peace of mind that we are not going to have to be concerned about what we need to provide,” Jackie said. “That we have a little bit to start with.”
Operation Homefront started its backpack brigade program in 2008 and has saved families $60 million in back-to-school supplies.
A survey released in April 2023 by the NFCC said 22% of military service members were unable to pay their monthly bills outside of rent/mortgage, loan or credit card payments during the 12 months prior to the survey.
That's compared to only 13% of the general population in that situation.
“We tend to move around quite a bit so we also have the cost of living to go with,” said Jackie. “We have maybe family that’s separated geographically from us. We have deployments we have to think of.”
This year Operation Homefront hopes to hand out it’s 550,000 backpack.
“We know that it makes a difference in people’s lives,” said Cheesman. “I just love seeing their faces.”
