Hundreds of military families got a free holiday meal as part of Operation Homefront's Holiday Meals for Military program.
On Saturday in Clarksville, 200 families walked away with non-perishables, as well as a Walmart gift card for the rest of the groceries needed for a full holiday meal.
Cracker Barrel also gave each family a $25 gift card.
The program got its start during the Thanksgiving holiday in 2009. It began as a chance encounter between a soldier, his family, and a supermarket employee in New York.
When the soldier couldn’t afford a handful of grocery items with his wife and infant, the employee picked up the $12 bill.
The program has since grown to provide more than 8,000 meal kits to military families nationally this holiday season.
