AMERICAN VETERANS CARE ASSISTANCE
BREAKFAST IN A BAG PROGRAM
AMERICAN VETERANS CARE ASSISTANCE’s Breakfast-in-a-Bag Program helps ensure that our Military combat Veterans have at least one nutritious meal a day. Veteran Elders who are able to find transportation use AVCA’s Breakfast-in-a-Bag food vouchers at the grocery stores in Bay Area. AVCA provides each Elder with a list of carefully chosen items they can obtain from the store at no cost to them. In addition, the store manager has signs posted throughout the store indicating each food item that is offered through AVCA’S Breakfast-in-a-Bag Program. All the food items are not only nutritious but are also appropriate for diabetics. By participating in this program, Veterans are able to use what little income they have for additional food items.
For those Elders who are homebound, community volunteers deliver the groceries. Volunteers often have to drive long distances on poorly maintained roads during inclement weather to reach the homes of the Elders they are helping. Many of the homes are spread out over a large area so it often can take an entire day to reach each Breakfast-in-a Bag recipient.
For many, this AVCA program is their only source of diabetic-specific and nutritious food. Each Breakfast-in-a-Bag contains many non-perishable items such as non-refrigerated milk, oatmeal, cereal, fruit cups, juice, and fresh fruits and vegetables in season.
AVCA’s Reservation receives wholesome food, the program also helps to foster a stronger sense of community among people who are already working hard to care for the needs of their Veteran Elders. AVCA’s Break-fast-in-a-Bag Program also helps community volunteers to reach out to identify Veteran Elders at risk. The Breakfast-in-a-Bag home deliveries help support Elders living in the more remote and isolated locations by having contact with community members on a regular basis.
Fact Sheet: AVCA Breakfast-in-a-Bag – 2020
Description of the Service: Through this service we distribute hundreds of bags of groceries to Combat Veterans on nutritional facilities in the Bay Area and Jemez Pueblo Reservation.
Reason for the Service: There are several reasons for this service:
- Homeless Veterans need food – People in the communities where we work are generally poor and need assistance meeting basic needs. We want to provide food to people who need it.
- Veterans can receive a noon meal at some Centers, but breakfast is not offered – We support Veterans feeding programs, but they do not serve breakfast and are closed on the weekends. The food we provide assists the Veterans when their Center is closed and provides some food for them to prepare additional meals.
- Many homeless Veterans have health issues – Many Veterans have diabetes or other health issues that get worse if they do not eat regularly. The food we offer is wholesome and makes additional food available at home.
Product – Each who has submitted an approved application is eligible to pick up the following items from our grocery vendor:
2 lbs of bananas 1 dozen eggs ½ gallon milk
1 loaf of bread 2 lbs beef dried fruit
1- 5lb bag of potatoes 1 box cereal 1 lb sausage
juice
Costs – Each bag of groceries average $20-$25. (This does not include overhead costs).
Window of Operation – Veterans sign up for the service in January. They can pick up their bags beginning the third week of each month. The food is not available in November, December, or January because many of the same Veterans receive holiday meals from us. AVCA also distributes emergency food packages () to Elders who eat at the ENCs, and food packages are delivered to the Elders who are homebound, to help them get through the winter when the weather might be particularly bad.
Who is Served – All of the participants for this service are Veterans over the age of 62 and all live on the Bay Area and Jemez Pueblo Rez.
