I lost my job in July due to COVID-19, said Rachel Szabo, a military spouse.
She s been out of work for nearly five months. Szabo is the wife of a soldier with the 82nd Airborne Division. She picks up groceries monthly from Fort Bragg s Armed Services YMCA. The couple is expecting their first baby on Christmas Day. I ve always been someone who has paid for everything myself. Paid my way through school. Paid my own student loans, which I had a ton of. That s where all my unemployment goes. It s truly one income for us, Szabo said.
While service members often fight for our country, many of their families are taking on another battle during this pandemic: keeping their families fed.