Nesconset Resident To Fight Food Insecurity Among Service Members

NESCONSET, NY — After helping to fight for healthcare for 9/11 first responders, and most recently pushing to get the PACT Act signed into law Wednesday by Pres. Joe Biden, John Feal plans to advocate for food insecurity amongst service members.

“Twenty-four percent of our military and their families are starving. That means while they are serving us, they are going hungry. That is unacceptable,” Feal told Patch. “There are a few bills kicking around in Congress that I’m working on.”

One of the bills is the Military Hunger Prevention Act, which was introduced in April, but hasn’t had much movement since, and it would require the U.S. Department of Defense to pay a basic needs allowance to certain low-income members of the Armed Forces who have completed basic training, according to the legislation.

The bill would also require service members to have a gross household income that did not exceed an amount equal to 130 percent of the poverty guidelines of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and do not elect to decline the allowance, according to Congress.gov.

The DOD’s Defense Finance and Accounting Service wing must notify, in writing, individuals determined to be eligible for the allowance and include information regarding financial management and assistance programs administered by the DOD for which the individuals are also eligible. Individuals who seek to receive the allowance must submit specified information to DFAS, according to the bill.

Despite Feal’s work on getting the PACT Act, which provides compensation for service members exposed to toxic burn pits, he wants to make sure that legislation continues to grow while he also works on his new endeavor.

“President Biden shaked my hand yesterday and called me ‘savage!’ I’ll take that as a complement,” said Feal, who believes the passing of the bill is just the beginning. “Getting the bill passed was the easy part. It’s making sure that the bill grows from its infancy stage to maturity and getting all of these organizations and advocates to take turns nurturing this bill.”

Feal also wants every individual who needs compensation from the PACT Act to get the help they deserve, said the veteran, who served in the 101st Airborne.

“We are still doing that 21 years after 9/11,” said Feal. “That is my full-time job — advocating for the 9/11 first responder community. I’m not done … I’m going to keep doing advocacy work as long as I can do it.”

While in Washington, D.C., many members of Congress told Feal he should run for office, a sentiment many in the 9/11-community and beyond have shared over the years, but he is finally letting putting that idea to bed.

“While it is enticing and romantic, I don’t think I would be as effective,” he said. “I think I will be a part of a broken system. I’d rather fight that broken system and fix it from the outside than to fix it from the inside.”