Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, nonprofit Stronghold Food Pantry has been announced as one of the distinguished 2024 Fisher Service Award recipients, receiving a grant to improve the quality of life for veterans and military families facing food insecurity.
Fisher House Foundation and Military Times Foundation partner annually to award $400,000 to deserving nonprofits that help veteran and military communities, and have donated more than $3 million over 25 years.
“Receiving the award has been a whirlwind,” said Monica Bassett, founder and CEO of Stronghold. “To know that the esteemed board and judges reviewed over 500 nonprofit applications and recognized Stronghold’s mission, programming and impact is both humbling and rewarding, and we are incredibly grateful. It reaffirms our commitment to filling a crucial gap in support for military families.”
Stronghold Food Pantry was founded in 2022 to support military families experiencing food insecurity. With brick-and-mortar locations in Fort Leavenworth and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to give patrons fresh food, pantry staples and household necessities weekly, Stronghold also has an Ambassador Program, an outreach initiative that allows the nonprofit to reach the one in five veteran and military families who are food insecure.
With its portion of the grant money, Stronghold will globally enhance and expand its Ambassador Program. By leveraging technology and activating Stronghold Ambassadors globally, the traditional food pantry model is transformed into a movement for new service delivery directly to military families requesting aid.
The Ambassador Program’s mission is to bridge cutting-edge solutions with genuine human connection, prioritizing compassion and integrity while fostering empowerment and a cycle of positivity during times of vulnerability.
“I founded Stronghold with a vision to always put families first, developing programs and building teams to extend our reach while putting an emphasis on compassion and dignity,” Bassett said. “This award is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our entire team, and it inspires me to continue our vital work today and for the future.”
Stronghold Food Pantry is a volunteer-run, 501(c)(3) charitable organization serving U.S. military families facing food insecurity with care and dignity by providing food, necessities and resources. Stronghold strives to remove the stigma and ease the epidemic of food insecurity among military communities by proliferating awareness, advocacy and collaboration.
To learn more about how to support Stronghold Food Pantry to help military families around the nation facing food insecurity, visit strongholdfoodpantry.org.
Award to help Stronghold’s Ambassador Program reach more military families
by Monica Bassett/Stronghold Food Pantry Founder and CEO
I developed the Ambassador Program for Stronghold in spring 2023 to reach more military families across the nation and across all service branches.
Our first Ambassador was none other than Ashley Gutermuth, the Jimmy Fallon - Seinfeld Challenge Winner. Gutermuth is an award-winning comedian, national public speaker, and military spouse. As she travels the globe, she takes Stronghold with her, providing fresh and nonperishable groceries to military families worldwide.
In 2023, with Ambassadors launched at military installations from Hawaii to Texas, Tennessee to Alabama, Alaska, and Okinawa — plus Gutermuth on tour — we reached military families in 13 states and four countries.
Stronghold's Ambassador Program leverages technology and innovation to deliver groceries to military families globally, transforming the traditional food pantry model into a movement for new service delivery. We bridge cutting-edge solutions with genuine human connection, prioritizing compassion and integrity.
We are truly honored and thrilled to have received the Fisher House Service Award, which recognizes the top nonprofits in the nation who have identified gaps in service for active-duty military and veterans, and create innovative solutions to fill those gaps and improve the lives of service members and their families. This year, more than 515 nonprofits applied, and only five were selected.
As for what the Stronghold Ambassador Program is doing now — for the second year in a row, we have partnered with Maria Reed, founder and producer of Moving with the Military, for a nationwide Grateful Table Thanksgiving Meal Giveaway. If anyone knows of a military family who could use support this Thanksgiving, anywhere in the nation, please share our information.
Locally, at our headquarters on Fort Leavenworth, we will be open weekly through Nov. 26 to support our military community this season. (See the Stronghold November calendar on page B5, and sign up to shop, support and more at www.strongholdfoodpantry. org.)
We are in the process of creating a designated holiday section in the pantry where families can pick up holiday meal staples, including cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole fixings, and more.
Additionally, starting Dec. 2, we will be launching our first-ever Christmas Depot (also known as Santa's Workshop) at Fort Leavenworth.
With the endless support of Armed Forces Insurance and our local community, we are proud to be “More Than a Food Pantry” for our Fort Leavenworth families.
Read related story at https://www.dvidshub.net/news/484075/munson-army-health-center-screens-service-members-military-families-food-insecurity.
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