No Installation Left Behind: Reaching Families at remote military installations

When I started Stronghold in my garage in 2022, I wasn't thinking about how many military installations we would eventually serve. I was thinking about families.

I was seeing military families quietly go without. Families stretching a paycheck, feeding their children, and moving forward without anyone knowing how hard things had become.

Today, we've grown far beyond that garage. We serve military families through our brick-and-mortar pantry at Fort Leavenworth, our Pop-Up Pantries, and our Ambassador Program, which reaches families at 72 installations across 26 states.

But growth has shown me something I can't ignore ... where a military family is stationed should never determine whether they can get the support they need. That's why we're launching No Installation Left Behind. This campaign is about military families stationed at remote and isolated installations. They serve just as fully as anyone else, but they may live hours from resources many of us take for granted.

When "remote" means more than a long drive

At Fort Greely, Alaska, a routine doctor's appointment can mean driving more than 100 miles each way, and for more than six months of the year, that drive happens in winter. At Naval Air Station Key West, care beyond what's available locally can mean a three-hour trip to Miami. At Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, service members drove between 110 and 350 miles each way for medical care last year.

Remote is about more than distance. Health care, childcare, work, and groceries each take time, planning, and travel. In September 2026, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the challenges facing families at remote and isolated installations. It found gaps in health care, childcare, housing, schools, and employment for military spouses. Every installation the GAO visited reported health care gaps, and staffing shortages at several affected childcare and youth programs.

And food and nutrition insecurity doesn't happen in isolation. When the nearest grocery store is an hour away, groceries cost more, medical care means a long drive, and a second income is hard to find, there is very little room left in the budget when something unexpected happens. That's where I believe Stronghold can help.

Bringing the groceries to the family

The Ambassador Program was built on a simple belief ... if military families can't always get to the resources they need, we find a way to bring those resources to them. We also believe in human connection and on a remote assignment it matters as much as the groceries.

Our Ambassadors are trained community members, many of them military spouses, who understand the communities they serve because they live there. They aren't simply delivering a box of food. They're showing up, getting to know a family, learning what a family eats, what the children enjoy, and whether there are allergies or dietary needs. Then they shop with that family in mind and deliver a full week of fresh groceries for the whole household.

Those groceries are meant to do more than fill a refrigerator. We want families to have the ingredients for real meals together, large family dinners that stretch across the household and bring everyone back to the table. The table is where parents hear about their children's day. For a family already living with the isolation of a remote assignment, that matters.

Sometimes a week of groceries means one less thing to worry about. It means opening the refrigerator and knowing there's enough to make dinner for everyone, without wondering how to stretch what's left until payday. That's the Stronghold Experience we want to bring wherever we serve. But there are still communities we haven't reached.

Knowing where the need is

In 2026, the Department of Defense established criteria for remote and isolated installations, and the Army and Navy identified 25 installations that meet them:

• more than 30 miles or a one-hour drive from a metropolitan area

• lacking at least one critical support service. 

  
  

Because Stronghold serves families across all six branches, we wanted to look further. We extended our research to the Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. Creech Air Force Base, for example, was designated remote and isolated by Congress in December 2025.

That widened our view to dozens of installations across 17 states where military families may be facing the challenges of a remote or isolated assignment.

We can't show up in all of them tomorrow. That's not how Stronghold grows. We build relationships, find the right people, train them well, and start small. We serve well, learn from the community, and grow from there. So No Installation Left Behind isn't about being everywhere at once. It's about knowing where the need is and beginning to find our way there.

Starting at Fort Polk

We already have a team doing this work at one of the identified installations. Three Stronghold Ambassadors are serving military families at Fort Polk, Louisiana, building relationships and showing up for their community. They show what becomes possible when the right people live where the need is and step forward.

We'll grow the rest the same way, one community at a time. Meaningful growth isn't about how quickly you can put your name on a map. It's about whether you can show up and serve the people who live there.

We need people who know the community

This is where I need help. If you live at or near one of these installations, you know what we can't teach from a distance ... where families shop, how far they drive, what's available, and where the gaps are.

You don't need to be a nonprofit expert or have years of experience. You need a heart for military families and a willingness to show up. Stronghold will train you, support you, and stand behind you. 

I keep coming back to one question: if there is a military family who needs support, how do we get there? We'll keep finding the families who need us. We'll keep finding the people willing to stand beside them. And we'll keep showing up, wherever they are.

Because no military family should be left behind simply because they are farther away.

Apply to become an Ambassador today