SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — On Sunday at Mariner’s Pointe Park, Feeding San Diego teamed up with the International Military Bible Academy (IMBA) of the World Mission Society Church of God in San Diego to host a food drive for military families.

All donations collected in Sunday’s food drive will be distributed to military families dealing with food insecurity across San Diego. The group aims to collect 2,000 pounds of food to benefit local San Diegans.

The Department of Defense reports that one in two junior enlisted service members and their spouses face food insecurity.

In addition, as many as 160-thousand active duty enlisted service members are struggling today to put food on the table.

Here are some of the reasons why they’re facing food insecurity.

• High cost of living
• They have to move frequently
• Occupational licensing challenges
• Low pay scale
• They cannot qualify for SNAP benefits (because their income is just right above that eligibility line).

Travis James, a Naval Chief Petty Officer, member of IMBA, and organizer of the Sunday event, said food insecurity impacts military members.
“We understand these types of things affects their jobs on a day-to-day basis,” James said. “We want to actually help them not to have added stress, so they can do their job accordingly.”

The food drive ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the organizations asked for non-perishable food items, canned goods, non-expired foods, and more.

IMBA also scheduled performances for the event, including martial arts acts, a quartet, a cheer team, and carnival booths for the kids.

Beyond helping military families in San Diego, IMBA has a global reach as well. The church, located in more than 175 countries worldwide, also hosts events to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and food drive events to help combat hunger.

To date, members of the IMBA church have held more than 4,000 food drives around the world.