Written by: Rafael Guimarães, MS & Kristen DiFilippo, PhD, RDN
Military-connected populations, including active-duty service members, reservists and national guardsmen, veterans, and family members, face distinct nutritional and health challenges shaped by military culture, operational demands, and frequent transitions. Dietitians play a critical role in engaging communities to address these challenges by integrating nutrition expertise with culturally responsive, community-based strategies that extend beyond individual counseling and clinical care (Institute of Medicine, 2010; Goodman and MHS Communications, 2025).
Community engagement is particularly relevant for military-connected populations because health behaviors are strongly influenced by social environments, access to resources, and institutional structures. Evidence from public health and military research shows that community-level interventions can improve nutrition readiness, diet quality, and health outcomes in populations exposed to chronic stress and mobility (Jennings and Patton 2025; Widome et al. 2015), including military-connected populations.
Nutritional Challenges in Military-Connected Populations
Military service and affiliation are associated with irregular schedules, sleep disruption, stress exposure, and transitions between civilian and military food environments, all of which influence dietary behaviors and metabolic health. Studies have documented elevated risks of limited nutrition readiness, poor diet quality, and cardiometabolic disease among veterans, reservists, and junior enlisted families (Brostow et al., 2024; Widome et al., 2015).
For military families, especially spouses and caregivers, maintaining consistent and nutritious household food practices often occurs in the context of repeated relocations, social isolation, and variable access to community resources. These challenges highlight the limitations of individual-level nutrition education alone and underscore the need for community and systems-based approaches to support sustainable dietary behaviors (Institute of Medicine, 2010).
Community Engagement as a Core Nutrition Strategy
Community engagement enables dietitians to address upstream determinants of nutrition and wellness, including food access, social support, and policy environments. Effective engagement begins with listening to military-connected communities and co-developing interventions that align with their priorities and lived experiences, an approach shown to improve intervention relevance and sustainability in health promotion research and practice (Gorman et al., 2022)
Military culture represents a distinct social system with norms related to readiness, hierarchy, and self-reliance, which can influence help-seeking behaviors. Dietitians who practice cultural humility and embed themselves in community settings are better positioned to build trust and identify gaps in nutrition services (Institute of Medicine, 2010).
Strategies for Dietitians to Engage Military-Connected Communities
Partnering with Trusted Organizations
Dietitians can collaborate with Department of War programs, Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, Reserve and National Guard units, Cooperative Extension, and community-based organizations, including Military and Family Support Centers and Child and Youth Programs, to integrate nutrition services. Military and Family Support Centers provide relocation assistance, family readiness programming, and wellness education across installations, while Child and Youth Programs support child development and family stability through structured services delivered on military installations (“Readiness Support for Your Military Life,” 2025; “Child & Youth Programs,” 2023). Such partnerships increase reach and reduce barriers to engagement among military-connected populations (Asch et al., 2023).
Leveraging Peer and Family Networks
Peer-led models and family-centered educational programs have been shown to provide measurable benefits for military and veteran families, strengthening coping skills, knowledge, and family functioning through mutual support and shared experience. Research evaluating the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Homefront program — a six-session peer-taught educational intervention for families and caregivers of service members and veterans — found significant improvements in empowerment, coping, psychological distress, family functioning, and caregiving experience among participants, highlighting the potential of peer and family networks to influence health-related norms and behaviors. Dietitians can strengthen these networks by training peer educators and supporting family-centered nutrition initiatives that build on shared lived experiences and mutual support (Haselden et al., 2019).
Key elements of the NAMI Homefront model include structured multi-session curricula, peer facilitators with lived experience, skills-based learning, and interactive discussion (Haselden et al., 2019). Dietitians can adapt this format into nutrition-focused programs that combine practical skills such as budget-friendly meal planning and identifying affordable and accessible healthy food options within the community with facilitated peer discussion, goal setting, and mentorship to strengthen family resilience around nutrition and health behaviors.
Addressing Nutrition Readiness Through Systems Approaches
Nutrition readiness remains a significant concern among military-connected populations, particularly veterans and families with lower-incomes. Dietitians can engage in systems-level strategies such as improving the nutritional quality of foods offered through community food pantries and military food distribution programs, facilitating enrollment in federal nutrition assistance programs like WIC and school meals, and supporting Food is Medicine initiatives that link healthcare and nutrition access (Owens et al., 2023; Berkowitz et al., 2019).
Using Digital and Hybrid Engagement Tools
Digital platforms, including tele-nutrition and mobile health tools, can extend nutrition support to geographically dispersed service members and families. Evidence from federal health initiatives suggests that digital tools can improve continuity of care during deployments and relocations when designed with community input (Goodman and MHS Communications, 2025).
Examples include the expansion of virtual health services within the Military Health System, which has integrated telehealth platforms to support service members and families across duty stations (Goodman and MHS Communications, 2025). The VA has also implemented telehealth and secure messaging systems to maintain chronic disease management, including nutrition counseling, for veterans in rural and high-mobility settings (Institute of Medicine, 2010).
Dietitians as Community Connectors and Educators
Beyond education, dietitians serve as connectors who link individuals to resources, organizations to one another, and evidence to practice, acting as knowledge brokers and relationship builders within their communities. Research on knowledge brokering demonstrates that these intermediary roles improve the uptake, relevance, and sustainability of health interventions by facilitating communication between stakeholders, translating research findings into actionable guidance, and supporting continuous learning among community partners and policymakers. In this capacity, dietitians can conduct community needs assessments, support program evaluation, and translate research into practical tools and policies that strengthen community nutrition systems and address upstream determinants of health (Cuffe et al., 2024).
Dietitians also contribute by sharing their expertise and educating policymakers on practical strategies to enhance nutrition readiness among military-connected populations. Systems-oriented engagement helps shift nutrition care from reactive, individual-level interventions to preventive, population-based solutions (Institute of Medicine, 2010).
Military Relevance: Community Engagement and Readiness
Nutrition directly affects physical performance, cognitive function, sleep, and cardiometabolic health, all of which are critical components of military readiness (Mettler et al., 2010; Gómez-Pinilla, 2008). Research on community engagement in public health shows that engagement enhances the effectiveness of nutrition interventions by ensuring they are accessible, culturally appropriate, and sustainable across diverse populations (O’Mara-Eves et al., 2015).
For military families, strong community nutrition systems support family stability and retention, while for veterans and reservists, community-based nutrition programs ease reintegration and reduce health disparities. These outcomes align with Department of War and VA priorities for long-term force health protection (Institute of Medicine 2010; Goodman and MHS Communications, 2025).
Conclusion
Dietitians play a vital role in engaging communities to support the complex nutritional and health needs of military-connected populations. By integrating nutrition science with community engagement, systems thinking, and cultural responsiveness, dietitians can help create environments where healthy choices are feasible and supported.
Effective nutrition care for military-connected populations extends beyond the clinic and into the communities where service members and their families live, work, and transition. Community-engaged nutrition practice strengthens resilience, readiness, and long-term health across the military-connected life course.
References
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