USAA and the Robert Irvine Foundation recently announced Fuel to Serve. This new five-year partnership will use food as an everyday entry point to strengthen military family well-being and readiness. The initiative is part of Honor Through Action, a national advocacy movement USAA founded to drive meaningful, measurable change on the issues that matter most to the military community. 

Beginning with pilots at Fort Bragg and in the Washington, D.C., region, Fuel to Serve will expand the Robert Irvine Foundation’s food, wellness and community programs to connect military families with broader resources.

“Whether you’re a service member, whether you’re a spouse, whether you’re a dependent, everybody serves in support of their service member. And so, it’s very important that we focus on the entire family versus just a service member alone,” shared Nate Somers, director, Pentagon Partnerships and Policy, USAA. 

Fuel to Serve will go “beyond the dining hall,” using food and shared meals as trusted entry points to link families with a broader network of resources. The initiative will explore ways to guide military families toward financial education and resources, cooking and nutrition education, mental health services, benefits navigation and community-based support — meeting families where they already are through commissaries, dining facilities and other familiar food settings.

“Food is part of every military family’s daily life, but its importance extends far beyond the meal itself,” said Juan C. Andrade, president and CEO of USAA, in a press release. “Through Fuel to Serve, we’re bringing together trusted partners and practical resources to address the interconnected challenges military families face. By starting with places and experiences families already know, this initiative aims to help support their health, resilience and readiness.” 

“Some of the most important conversations happen around a table,” said Robert Irvine, founder and chairman of the Robert Irvine Foundation, in a press release. “Food is the front door. It brings people together, builds trust and gives us a way to connect families to nutrition, wellness and community support that lasts. This work runs from the dining facility to the home, from the installation to the surrounding community.”

Through these pilots, USAA and the Robert Irvine Foundation will stand up and prove the model, track measurable outcomes and lay the groundwork to scale services across military communities nationwide. The two organizations will use pilot learnings to convene military leaders, nonprofits, private-sector partners and community organizations around solutions that can strengthen military family well-being and readiness at greater scale.

“Through Fort Bragg, we will learn as we go…and then as we live it and learn it, we will then scale it across the Department of War enterprise, reaching our ultimate goal [of] all dining facilities, all installations and all DoWEA school systems across the Department of War,” added Somers. 

USAA leadership and leaders from the Robert Irvine Foundation recently visited Fort Bragg for the opening of Rally Point Bistro. Rally Point Bistro was already planned under an Army contract, but its opening—alongside Fort Bragg’s DoWEA schools—made the installation a strong pilot site for Fuel to Serve’s broader effort to improve military food systems.

During their visit, they heard positive feedback from soldiers, leaders and community members about the changes that have already been implemented. They also met with DoWEA school leaders to discuss challenges with hiring, equipment, food ordering and meal-service capabilities.

The immediate priority is to revamp Fort Bragg’s DoWEA school meals with fresher, locally sourced options, targeting launch by Q1 2027. The team will also track Rally Point Bistro’s use to determine whether additional dining capacity is needed. During the first half of 2027, the program will introduce community events, nutrition and cooking classes and budgeting and commissary-shopping education to Fort Bragg, while using feedback and data to refine the program.

Military readiness is shaped by the everyday conditions that support health, resilience and family stability. Nutrition, financial well-being, social connection and access to trusted support all influence a family’s ability to thrive through the demands of military life. 

Military families often navigate competing pressures related to household finances, nutrition, mental wellness and accessing available support. Rising costs can force difficult trade-offs among food, housing, transportation, childcare and other essentials, while services and resources are often spread across multiple organizations and systems. Fuel to Serve aims to address these overlapping pressures directly.

Fuel to Serve extends USAA’s collaboration with the Robert Irvine Foundation through Face the Fight, recognizing that food and shared meals can create meaningful opportunities to foster connection, reduce isolation and link military families with support and resources.