There’s also a food pantry tucked away in a small room at the far end of a hallway on the second floor, where active-duty soldiers stationed nearby at Fort Hood can receive free groceries.
asserted
soldiers → ’ → groceries
More than a dozen pantries surround the army base, where about 40,000 soldiers are stationed.
asserted
soldiers → surround → base
The pantry’s parking lot is where I found Miguel Pérez on a July morning, lugging a heavy reusable grocery bag to his pickup under the already blazing central Texas sun.
asserted
I → find → sun
Pérez, a 39-year-old army combat engineer, was on leave and asked that I not use his real name.
asserted
I → ask → name
His bag contained sweet potatoes, a box of elbow macaroni, a 5lb bag of frozen chicken breasts, some enormous beets, a dozen eggs and a few other staples – about $100 worth of food by his reckoning.
asserted
bag → contain → reckoning
Born in the Dominican Republic, Pérez lived in Colorado and worked in casinos before losing his job during the Covid-19 pandemic.
asserted
Pérez → bear → pandemic
A friend who worked as an army recruiter suggested he look into the military.
uncertain
he → work → military
He was 34 when he enlisted, completing basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and eventually landing at Fort Hood.
asserted
he → enlist → Hood
Combat engineers are responsible for emplacing and destroying obstacles on behalf of infantry and tank units.
asserted
engineers → emplace → units
It’s dangerous work, involving explosives and grueling physical labor, but Pérez said he was happy in the army.
asserted
he → ’ → army
“I always wanted to do this,” he said.
asserted
he → want → this
Still, constant financial stress has made an already difficult job even harder.
asserted
job → make → ?
Military pay breaks down into several main categories, including base pay, housing allowance, food allowance, and dozens of minor supplements for things like hazardous duty, combat, demolition, diving and aviation.
asserted
pay → break → duty
Pay also depends on rank and time in service.
asserted
Pay → depend → service
Pérez, who joined five years ago and has earned the rank of sergeant, said he brings home about $4,800 a month, including about $1,600 for housing and $476 for food – or just shy of $58,000 a year.
asserted
he → join → food
“In the military we don’t make that much to cover gas, housing, kids’ back-to-school costs, utilities,” he said.
asserted
he → make → school
“It’s hard today for us.”
asserted
It → ’ → us
Pérez usually visits the ASYMCA pantry twice a month, shaving about $200 from his monthly grocery bill.
asserted
Pérez → visit → bill
“When you come early, you see a lot of military people,” he said.
asserted
he → come → people
“We need it.”
asserted
We → need → it
As a sergeant responsible for several younger soldiers, Pérez said he had seen how shame deters troops from seeking assistance.
asserted
shame → say → assistance
“They look at it like if you’re taking something for free to eat, it’s a bad thing,” he said.
asserted
he → look → something
“I guess they’re embarrassed about it.”
asserted
they → guess → it
Reluctance to seek help can obscure how widespread the problem has become.
asserted
problem → seek → help
Nationwide, nearly half of all active-duty military families experienced food insecurity in 2025, according to research from the non-profit Military Families Advisory Network – more than double the rate in 2023.
uncertain
half → experience → 2023
The ASYMCA’s food distribution programs, which serve more than 50 military installations, saw a 23% jump in demand last year.
asserted
which → serve → demand
The problem is especially acute among the enlisted ranks, with almost 57% reporting food insecurity last year, compared with 14% of officers.
asserted
% → report → officers
Lower-ranking troops with families are the hardest hit.
asserted
troops → rank → families
One out of every five active-duty families reported eating “less than they felt they should because there wasn’t enough money for food in the past year”, according to a similar study by the non-profit Blue Star Families.
uncertain
they → report → Families
Instead of getting help, Pérez said, some soldiers make difficult choices about where to allocate their limited funds.
asserted
soldiers → get → funds
One of his soldiers got a speeding ticket and told Pérez: “I can’t pay it, because if I pay it, I’m not gonna buy groceries.”
asserted
I → get → groceries
Pérez’s finances took a hit after a recent divorce, when he became the sole provider for his two sons, a 16-year-old and a three-year-old.
asserted
he → take → sons
Like many troops living off base, his $1,900 monthly rent outstrips his housing allowance, which means he’s paying part of his rent out of his base pay.
asserted
he → live → pay
After covering all of his expenses, there’s little margin for error – and his case is typical.
asserted
case → cover → error
According to Sheri Yerrington, executive director of the Killeen ASYMCA – which serves the Fort Hood area – demand for food assistance has grown steadily since the pantry opened three years ago.
uncertain
pantry → accord → assistance
“It’s been anywhere from a 12-19% increase every year,” she said.
asserted
she → say → increase
In 2025, the Killeen ASYMCA delivered 500,000lb of food to more than 19,000 families.
asserted
ASYMCA → deliver → families
Open every Thursday, the pantry often runs out of food by the early afternoon.
asserted
pantry → run → afternoon
“It’s the most heartbreaking thing for a soldier in uniform to walk in here at one o’clock and our pantry is already empty, and I have to turn them away,” Yerrington said.
asserted
Yerrington → ’ → them
“That is the worst feeling, and I have had it.”
asserted
I → have → it
…and 104 more, not listed.
The Aporia
