SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego is home to the largest concentration of military families in the nation, and thousands relocate here every year — facing steep costs and the challenge of rebuilding their lives from scratch.
Blue Star Families is stepping in to help. The nonprofit recently held its annual Welcome Week event at the USS Midway Museum, where more than 100 volunteers packed roughly 1,300 boxes of food for military families who have recently moved to the area.
Angelica Evojo and her family moved to San Diego in August. After moving four times, she said this relocation has been the hardest.
"Me and my husband, we're sleeping on like a couch bed, um, just for now until we get our things," Evojo said.
Evojo said a free box of food takes away some of the financial pressure that comes with starting over.
"Sometimes when you're moving you're alone, so just having Blue Stars families here and all the support and volunteers means so much. Um, super grateful," Evojo said.
Maggie Meza, executive director of the Southern California chapter of Blue Star Families, helped pack boxes at the event. As a military spouse of 30 years, she said she understands the impact firsthand.
"We had to give up a lot of food that we couldn't transport. So this is a great starter pack for our families to be able to um get ready into their home," Meza said.
Through a partnership with Feeding San Diego and Target, military families at Camp Pendleton, Miramar, and Navy Region Southwest will receive help.
"We're gonna be able to distribute these on the bases, um, and get them in the hands of our brand new military families to the area," Meza said.
Some of the boxes are also planned for distribution to families with spouses serving aboard the USS Roosevelt and the USS Lincoln.
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