Celebrity Chef Helps Feed Military Families In Killeen

Celebrity chef Robert Irvine joined ranks with the Military Family Advisory Network on Saturday to host a drive through food distribution event at the Food Care Center in Killeen.

More than 700 military and veteran families were served more than 50 pounds of food each through the Robert Irvine Foundation, Tyson Foods, the Food Care Center and the major suppliers of the commissary.

Irvine, a veteran of the British Royal Navy and Marine Corps, hosts the Food Network show “Restaurant: Impossible” and has filmed a few shows in Killeen. The world class chef said this was the first opportunity, however, he’s had to come to the Fort Hood area to give back a little something to the troops, veterans and their families in need.

“Why do we do it? We do it because it’s really showing them (service members, veterans and their families) that we care,” Irvine said. “As a service man, before phones, you know we used to have a tri-folder, we’d write letters home. Now we can Facetime. We do 150 days of the year on the road with our military, Afghanistan, Iraq, Poland, Spain, no matter where it is, feeding, entertaining.

“To partner with MFAN, to really continue what we do in the field, which is cooking and everything else, but to be here, to give food to our under served families that are serving our nation is something really special. Me and my team, we travel, we love it, we take care of those people who take care of us.”

Throughout the event, the celebrity chef greeted as many of the military families as possible, chatting with those who attended to receive food and taking selfies. Irvine also had nothing but praise for the organizations putting on the event and the volunteers helping out.

“These guys, MFAN, not only go out and get the resources, and the Robert Irvine Foundation is giving them the money to buy food, but it’s set up like look, there’s a time, there’s a place, and you’ve got amazing volunteers, and look at this, these young kids,” he said, pointing out some of the young volunteers. “This is their dad. This is how you bring up kids, by paying it forward.”

The event kicked off MFAN’s Combat Military Hunger initiative — a nationwide effort to alleviate hunger among military and veteran populations by providing immediate food support, bringing together industry leaders to develop long-term solutions and conducting research to identify the causal factors that lead to food insecurity, according to MFAN’s representative.

“We could not do this work without the support of our partners, and the Robert Irvine Foundation has been just fantastic and having Chef Irvine here is amazing,” said Shanna Smith, senior manager for external relations for MFAN. “The families are loving it, they’re really enjoying meeting and greeting him and we just could not be more thrilled with their partnership and their support of our event.”

The Military Family Advisory Network believes that no military family should worry about where their next meal is coming from, she said. The organization works throughout the nation year-round because they believe that combating military hunger is a big issue.

Irvine agreed that no service member or veteran should ever have to worry about their next meal.

“To the men and women who wear the cloth of our nation, our veterans and our Gold Star families, thank you for your service,” he said. “We’ve got to do a better job taking care of you. We’ve got to take care of you and we’re going to do it.”

Author: KDHDigital