Organizers are hoping to collect 25,000 pounds of food this Sunday during a veterans-focused food drive at NTC Park inside Liberty Station, with the goal of breaking the San Diego Food Bank's record for the largest single-day donation. The food drive runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is paired with a morning parade, followed by a party at American Legion Post 149.
The event is being organized in partnership with the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, according to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. The International Military Bible Academy, described as a group of active-duty and veteran service members affiliated with the World Mission Society Church of God, is leading the charitable push alongside the Food Bank. Community members are being invited to participate and support military families facing food insecurity.
Stef Holden, co-chair of North County VetFest, appeared on Good Morning San Diego Thursday to promote the seventh annual event and explained the rebranding from what was formerly known as the Escondido VetFest. The shift in branding reflects an effort to expand the event's reach across the region, though specifics of that transition beyond the name change were not detailed in the broadcast segment.
A Scheduling Discrepancy Worth Noting
Other 2026 coverage describes a separate, seventh annual North County VetFest parade and festival taking place Nov. 11 in Escondido rather than at Liberty Station. The San Diego Union-Tribune's county-wide events guide describes the parade starting at Grape Day Park on Broadway and heading south before circling back around the park, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. That listing also describes an 11 a.m. ceremony, lunch, live band and military displays at Post 149.
Separately, the Escondido Times-Advocate reported that the seventh annual VetFest and Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11 would be led by Grand Marshal Gina Burke, a Vietnam-era nurse who served on China Beach, with more than 30 parade entries signed up and additional entries expected. It is not clear from available reporting whether the Liberty Station food drive and the Escondido parade are the same event, separate events, or reflect inconsistent planning details — a point organizers have not yet clarified publicly.
Why Military Families Are the Focus
The San Diego Food Bank says its Military Initiative is built around providing nutritious food to military and veteran families facing food insecurity, a mission that carries particular weight in a region the Food Bank says is home to more than 115,000 active-duty personnel and 230,000 veterans and their families. The organization reports partnering with 13 military support agencies and serving close to 40,000 active-military and veteran family members each month in 2024, according to sandiegofoodbank.org.
That need appears to be growing. A Military Family Advisory Network survey of more than 10,000 military and veteran families conducted between October 2025 and January 2026 found more than 41% of respondents reported experiencing food insecurity, a jump from 16% in 2023, per the Times of San Diego. More than half of those surveyed identified food costs as a barrier to eating healthy.
Setting the Bar on Donation Day
Breaking the single-day donation record would put the Liberty Station drive in rare territory for San Diego hunger-relief efforts. The Food Bank's own largest known one-day haul came in May, when the 34th annual Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive brought in more than 100,000 pounds of food across the county — an event the Food Bank describes as the largest one-day food drive in the nation. The Food Bank overall distributed more than 50 million pounds of food last year and served an average of 400,000 people each month.
Whether Sunday's event lives up to its 25,000-pound goal or sets a new single-day record remains to be seen, as those outcomes are organizer aspirations rather than confirmed results. For now, the plan stands as announced: a morning parade, a daylong food drive at NTC Park, and an afternoon gathering at American Legion Post 149 meant to rally the community behind veterans and military families navigating rising grocery costs.
