Here's How 30 Seconds of Your Time Can Help Hungry Veterans

This post is sponsored by Operation In Touch. All opinions and work are my own.

Busy.

It’s the word that is defining my life right now.

My planner is a depressing swamp of to-dos and appointments that take way too much time when I have way too little of it. And sometimes at the end of the day, I’m glad that I was able to keep the status quo–even though it feels like I haven’t gotten anything accomplished, at least I was able to keep my head above water.

Sometimes it’s a little paralyzing. And sometimes it’s downright suffocating.

I’m guessing you know exactly what I’m talking about. Military families are notoriously busy– and oftentimes, military families are functioning with one parent in another country (and usually far away from consistent communication), which makes things even harder to balance.

When you’re experiencing that kind of pressure, you prioritize the most important things to do and let other things go by the wayside. Going into survival mode is something we all do, but it can also give us tunnel vision. It’s easy to ignore other things and people when you’re focused on the tasks at hand that are right in front of you.

But this holiday season, you can there’s something you can do to help folks in the military community who are food insecure. And it only takes a few seconds for you to lend a helping hand. (Wins all around!)

Here’s the problem

Believe it or not, there are no reliable statistics on exactly how many veterans are food insecure. In 2015, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimated that 39,000 veterans were homeless; it can be assumed that even more veterans are hungry. In fact, in the last two years, the VA has been working to try to provide more resources for hungry veterans to stem the tide of need in the military community.

Operation In Touch wants to do something about that. (Operation In Touch is Unilever’s military community program which offers resources, military-focused content, and other helpful information.) Another one of Unilever’s programs, Make Meals That Do More, makes fresh food more accessible to people and provides nutritional resources and education for underserved communities. (You can learn more about the initiative here.) During the holiday season, Make Meals That Do More is partnering with Meals on Wheels America to provide healthy meals to veterans who may otherwise go hungry.

This is where you come in

Visit OperationinTouch.com to write a thank you note to a veteran. When you do, two things will happen: you could win one of six $100 commissary gift cards that will be given away between now and December 27, and your entry and thank-you note will help Meals on Wheels deliver up to $7,000 in meals to senior veterans.

That’s right: your entry can help donate up to $7,000 to senior veterans who are insecure. That’s a super easy and impactful way to give back to your community, all from your computer, and all with just a few keystrokes and clicks. (Or taps, of course! You can enter from your phone while you’re watching the kids at the playground.)