Operation Merry Meals – Bringing the Holidays to Military Families

Minnesota National Guard staff and Beyond the Yellow Ribbon partners and volunteers teamed up this month for Operation Merry Meals to provide holiday meals for Minnesota veterans, service members, and military families in need.

“The holiday season often underscores the love for family, duty, and gratitude that defines military life,” said Army Col. Eduardo Suarez, director of the Minnesota National Guard’s Culture, Resiliency, and Community Engagement team. “Whether our service members are home or abroad, they can face many challenges that are often compounded during the holiday season. Operation Merry Meals is one way we, as Minnesotans, come together to support those in need. The simple act of providing a meal goes a long way in showing how we value the service and sacrifice of those that have served or are serving, and their families.”

This year, the annual effort involved gathering and packing an estimated 300 meal kits filled with groceries at Meals from the Heart in Oakdale. On Dec. 17, 2024, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, a recognized Beyond the Yellow Ribbon organization, transported approximately 600 packs of meat donated by Hunter’s Harvest from Big Steer Meats to Meals from the Heart. There, on Dec. 19, the meal kits and meat were loaded into vehicles and delivered by Beyond the Yellow Ribbon volunteers to armories and air wings across the state where military family readiness teams distributed the food to those who registered to receive them.

Beyond the Yellow Ribbon establishes and sustains community and corporate support networks that connect agencies, organizations, and resources to meet the needs of Minnesota’s military veterans and service members in all branches and their families. To learn more about BTYR, visit the BTYR website and follow on Facebook and X.

By Cristina Oxtra
Minnesota National Guard Public Affairs