Military families receive free holiday meals
Children smiled as they colored pictures of reindeer and visited with Santa Claus during Wednesday's Holiday Meals for Military event at the Gurnee Holiday Inn.
Almost 100 families were treated to gifts, school supplies and meals during the Operation Homefront program to help military families through the holidays.
"You can see the families lining up, and they are excited to come in here to pick up their holiday meals," said Darcy Clardy, regional director of Operation Homefront. "I think this is a great event. They are very appreciative when they come in here. If we can support our military for all of the sacrifices they make for us, it is more beneficial."
Children did arts and crafts and received teddy bears from Santa, and their parents received groceries for a holiday meal.
The Holiday Meals for Military program started almost by accident when a soldier and his young family could not pay for the $12 in groceries at a supermarket in Utica, N.Y., near Fort Drum at Thanksgiving 2009. A Beam Inc. employee paid the bill for the groceries and the holiday event was introduced.
What started with 500 meal kits for military families in 2009, has grown to 8,500 meals this holiday season.
"I think this is great that they're doing this for our families. Especially being away from our own families. It's nice that they are supporting us. It's tough sometimes to do meals," Christy Drake of Spartanburg, S.C. said as she arrived with her 18-month-old child, Sawyer, to pick up the holiday meal.
This year's sponsors included Wal-Mart, Beam-Suntory, CDW, Thirty-One Gifts, Navy Federal Credit Union and Ocean Spray.