Food is Essential… ask any Sailor before Payday
On the second Monday of each month, the parking lot of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church on Mayport Road is lined with cars and vans filled with military families waiting patiently for food provided by the Mayport Navy League (MNL). This program is called Military Mondays - Dinners to Go (MMDTG) and its theme is Food is Essential…ask any Sailor before Payday.
MNL began providing food for this important initiative in January 2025 using funding received through the VyStar Foundation. The VyStar Foundation is providing resources to supplement food insecurities for our military members and their families at Naval Station (NS) Mayport during the periods prior to the bi-monthly pay periods when the military member’s paycheck funds are low. These funds have been used to help revitalize the previous USO No-Dough MNL program.
As the vehicles enter the parking lot, MNL volunteers check their Military ID. They then write a number on a Post-It note — indicating the number of family members in need of food — and stick it on the windshield, signaling to the distribution volunteers the number of meals needed to pass through the open car window.
“Five!” shouts one of the volunteers.
The group springs into action, gathering into an assembly line to pass out five black boxes of Jersey Mike’s Subs. Each meal contains a sandwich, chips, a cookie and water for each person. All designed to ensure the families in line will have a healthy dinner.
The primary goal of the MNL food program is to ensure the military and their families are receiving support to meet their basic needs.
Serving our country is important and noble work and active-duty military members are honored and proud to do so, but when there are food insecurities due to food costs and low pay, morale is affected. The Military Monday - Dinner to Go program has energized sailors and their families who are grateful for the food.
“The cost of food is going up rapidly,” said Tim Jenkins, a retired Navy Rear Admiral, MNL Board Member and MMDTG committee member. “This is an auxiliary way we can support active-duty families and let them know that there is an organization out there that can help them.”
Feeding Heroes and Their Families
“Do you want turkey or ham?” a volunteer asks as they poke their head into a car.
MNL provides nearly 200 Jersey Mike's boxes on each occasion. As military families work to make ends meet, the need for similar programs is needed and very appreciated.
Data from the My Navy Career Center and the Defense Finance Service shows that married E-4 service members with four years of service and two children earn $3,371 a month. Meanwhile, it costs more than $6,005 a month for a family of four to live comfortably in Jacksonville, according to Numbeo, a database for cost-of-living statistics.
On a recent Monday, one family received food after multiple attempts. “Every time we’ve come, they’re packing up,” said Brittany Cannon, indicating all the food provided had been given out. This underscores the high demand for the dinners.
Brittany, a Navy spouse, learned about the program from the Base Facebook page and said the dinners are a great help, especially when her husband is at sea.
“Today’s food is really nice since I don’t have to cook,” Brittany said. “The kids will be fed and happy.”
On this afternoon, it took less than 90 minutes for the food to be distributed. After all the food was handed out, the Jersey Mike’s Regional Director generously gave an additional 20 sub sandwiches to MNL to take on Naval Station Mayport for the Security Gate Guard Duty night watch teams. After each MMDTG event through April, Jersey Mikes donated extra sandwiches to MNL to be given to the Base Security personnel.
MNL has also used VyStar Foundation grant funds in support of the Jacksonville Military Affairs and Veterans Department’s program Food Farmacy (FF) for $25 commissary food gift cards to active-duty members that are in the FF carline. This program has been actively providing commissary gift cards since last June.
Making an Impact
The Navy League of the United States was incorporated in 1902. An early benefactor was President Theodore Roosevelt, who donated part of his Nobel Peace Prize money in support of the Navy League mission to serve and support all the sea services of the United States. The organization aims to educate the American people and the government about the country being a maritime nation, with its national defense and economy depending on sea services like the Navy and Coast Guard.
Navy League emphasizes the need to support military service members and their families, particularly in terms of nutrition. Healthy food is vital for military personnel to perform their duties effectively, and families also require good nutrition to support their loved ones.
In 1960, the Navy League of the United States Jacksonville Beaches Mayport Council, Inc. was chartered to support the Navy, active-duty service members and their families on Naval Station Mayport. The goal highlighted the need to educate the public about the importance of sea power and the challenges of maintaining strong national defense.
In June 2024, the VyStar Foundation grant significantly advanced the MNL project by providing funding to continue the previous USO food programs that had supported the Naval Station Mayport Military members and their families. During the USO years, the then No-Dough MNL Dinners supported families every quarter with attendance averaging about 100 people. The MMDTG is averaging 188 dinners per period with just over 800 military members and their families served, meaning the impact has more than doubled.
Additionally, the Food Farmacy program addressed the areas that supplemented the essentials needed for food preparation and food storage. In both cases, military members and families that have participated in the food programs have expressed great appreciation and thankfulness for the food, and the military has embraced the two programs, most especially the MMDTG.
“Navy people figure out how to make it work,” said Pat Kluever, a MNL Board member and MMDTG committee member.
Throughout the MMDTG project, nutritious meals were provided to military families, fostering a sense of community and support. Additionally, the Food Farmacy food gift cards enabled access to healthy food supplemental options, promoting better health and well-being among the recipients. As a result, the MNL grant funds have enriched the lives of many through sustained nourishment and shared solidarity.
“The VyStar Foundation Grant has provided the MNL the opportunity to continue a valued food program that has significantly enriched and touched the lives of many military members and their families this year through the FF and MMDTG efforts,” said Barbara Ives, MNL VP and Committee member. “Without the incentive from the grant funds, MNL would not have had the means or encouragement to pivot from the then USO No-Dough dinners to the now highly popular MMDTG program.”
MNL is grateful and appreciative for the grant that was provided by the VyStar Foundation.
Food is essential, and food needs are real, especially in the middle and end of the month when military members and their families’ food funds are low. Funds from the VyStar Foundation grant have truly made a difference and critically improved the situation.
