Only on ABC-7: Food pantry aims to help veterans

September is National Hunger Awareness Month.

According to the organization El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, one in seven El Pasoans has turned to a food bank for assistance over the last year.

Fifteen percent of those people are veterans.

ABC-7 got a look at a food pantry that is exclusive to veterans.

“We give fruit, vegetables, peanut butter, milk, meat, ramen and try to give a snack — cranberries or peanuts — to everybody who comes in once a month,” said Stephen Mills with the Unitarian Universalist Community of El Paso.

The organization puts together bins of food for active and former military members and their families.

“There’s just a lot of need,” Mills said.

The proof is in the number of veterans stopping by the food pantry every month.

It opened April 2013 and helped 40 vets and their families at that time.

Last month 140 people picked up food.

“These are the men and women who have pledged to give everything they have for this country, including their life,” Mills said.

On Labor Day Mills helped Jamie Lee, 51, a Navy veteran.

“There’s quite a bit here,” Lee said, looking over the bin as he unloaded the food into his pantry. “It frees up a bit of money to get school supplies or clothing, or you know, other things (we) need.”

Lee left the service after 10 years in 1992.

While he secured a job with the state of Illinois shortly after, he began to struggle financially after his first wife died of cancer 10 years ago. Lee said he accrued a million dollars of medical bills despite having insurance, and his job was compromised due to the demands at home. He lost his job, relocated and took a construction job — then lost his position during the recession.

“For about the last two years we’ve been hanging in there,” Lee said. “It’s very disheartening. I feel like I’ve let a lot of people down.”

Lee currently works for a security company, earning $8 an hour. He told ABC-7 he picks up odd jobs where he can and has never been without a job — sometimes working two or three to make ends meet.

Lee is the sole provider for his disabled wife and three daughters. He said it can be difficult dividing his time and attention among everyone while working on call or whenever he can get additional work.

They get food assistance from the state, which comes out to $295 a month.

“I do the best I can and keep going,” Lee said.

Lee said he realizes his family’s nutrition is poor. They can only afford fresh produce when they receive their food assistance through SNAP, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. The family only has meat to eat half the month. Their diet consists of beans, rice, pasta, and peanut butter — “The old standby,” Lee calls it. “At least they’re getting their protein.”

He gets angry and frustrated not being able to fully provide for his family on his own. But he told ABC-7 he’s grateful for the skills he learned in the service.

“They taught me a lot about how to survive, and they’ve given me a lot of strength, mentally, on how to do this,” Lee said.

The UUCEP Veterans Committee is dependent on volunteers and donations.

If you’re interested in helping the food pantry, click the link: https://www.facebook.com/uuvetscommittee