An update to this weekend’s event - unfortunately @OceansCallingMD has been canceled due to predicted severe weather. As of this point, our Breaking Bread with Heroes will go ON as scheduled with @ofarevolution.

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Robert Irvine Foundation—one we've been working toward for a long time. Fuel to Serve, our five-year partnership with USAA, is built around a simple idea: when it comes to our military, food is never just food. It is essential to readiness. It is physical health, community building, and even mental health support. We're starting at Fort Bragg and in the Washington, D.C. region, learning what works, measuring the impact, and building a model designed to reach military families far beyond those first communities. I am immensely proud of the Robert Irvine Foundation team and everyone at USAA for helping bring this to life. This is just the beginning.

“If we don’t take care of the people…then all the planes and trains and tanks…it doesn’t matter because we’ve lost the human being,” Irvine said. @RobertIrvine military.com/the-air-force-i…

Every military base has a dining facility. It is where service members eat most of their meals, and it was built for a different era. The services are modernizing it now, and Chef Robert Irvine has been invited to help. At a recent cooking demonstration at Peterson Space Force Base, one airman with 14 years in said the changes coming are leaps and bounds beyond what he has had before, and that better food will get him mission-ready. "Nutrition is the key to a successful force. And it's not only the force that serves, it's the family that stands behind them." The people eating the food are telling us what they need.

Suicide Prevention Month is a reminder that preventing veteran suicide takes all of us. We’re proud to be part of Face the Fight, alongside 300+ organizations working together to strengthen communities and equip veterans, their families, and supporters with the knowledge and skills to better support those who have served when they need it most. Buddy Check Week starts tomorrow. Have you taken the pledge? From September 21–25, we invite everyone in the military community to take the pledge to #TalkToTen veterans during the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Buddy Check Week. Whether it’s a text, a phone call, or a conversation over coffee, taking a few minutes to reach out can remind someone they’re seen, valued, and supported. @DeptVetAffairs @WeFaceTheFight Learn more about Buddy Check Week: department.va.gov/veterans-e… #FaceTheFight #FTF #SuicidePreventionMonth #NationalSuicidePreventionMonth #BuddyCheckWeek #SuicidePreventionDay #Veterans #MilitaryCommunity #VeteranSupport #SuicidePrevention #MentalHealth

Thank you @WMAR2News for featuring our Let's Chow Food Truck Program @WilliamsCyera -- Veterans leaving military service can face startup costs, difficulty securing business loans, family responsibilities and the challenge of moving from the structure of military life into the uncertainty of entrepreneurship. Let’s Chow connects them with people who can help with marketing, accounting, menus, sourcing and other parts of building a culinary business. “We create a family and an ecosystem for the veteran to overcome obstacles,” Foley said. “I don't personally help them overcome every obstacle. It's the team and the network we've created at Let's Chow and the Robert Irvine Foundation.” After losing a friend and veteran to suicide, Navy officer builds a new mission through Let’s Chow wmar2news.com/voiceforvetera…

"I had to humble myself and allow a perfect stranger to be there for me. To be vulnerable in that moment. It can just really do some true healing." -Air Force veteran, Resiliency Program participant He is describing a room where nobody has to explain themselves first. Where the person across the table has been somewhere close enough that you can stop translating. That is what we build over the weekend. The Cateran Yomp. A Breaking Bread With Heroes meal in your own hometown. Healing is not something we can hand anyone. We can put people in the same place at the same time and let it happen.

Chef @RobertIrvine joined @fox8news in Cleveland to discuss the recent Breaking Bread with Heroes for local first responders held on the 25th anniversary of September 11th Watch now: piped.video/kioAQAAQTIM?si=xLoP…

54 miles. 24 hours. Three checkpoints across the Scottish Highlands. The night before, there is dinner. "This isn't just a physical challenge. This is a mental challenge. We get to fuel them so they can get mentally prepared, physically prepared. We're the first step they get to take." Robert Irvine Foundation chefs fed thousands the night before the Cateran Yomp. Not because a meal fixes anything, but because nobody starts something this hard on empty. "The cooking's cool, but the reward on top of it, it's a whole different level."

Twenty-five years. You remember where you were that morning. So do I. What stays with me is what came after. The firefighters who kept digging when there was nothing left to find. The medics who worked a shift, went home, and came back. A lot of them are still here. A lot of them are sick. Most will still tell you they were just doing their job. That is why we set the table. Today I am in Cleveland, cooking lunch for about a hundred first responders and their families. No cameras pointed at them. No one asking them to relive that day for an audience. Just food, made right, and a few hours with people who already understand. Twenty-five years later, the people who showed up for us are still showing up. Keep showing up for them. #NeverForget #September11 --- @RobertIrvine robertirvinefoundation.org/?…

Cleveland - See you tonight for our fundraiser with Market Garden Brewery. 🍽️ @RobertIrvine is cooking a meal you won’t want to miss - proceeds benefit local first responders. Tix available at the door - hope to see you there! Details: wkyc.com/article/news/local/…

"This is something you consider an event, but through the execution of it, you realize that it's an experience." Hank Marsh served in Special Forces. Four or five miles into the Cateran Yomp he linked up with Mike and Travis. Two men he knew, with no plan to hike together. Later he went around a tree and took a bad fall. Covered in mud, still going for gold. He figured Travis had passed through the next checkpoint and kept moving. "When I came around the corner and seen him, I knew I was going to complete it. It didn't take away the pain, the hurt. But I knew I had a brother in arms, and as long as he was there, I was there, and I was good." He finished. He says it changed his life, and he wants every veteran to try it.

First, the kids planted basil. Then they learned to take care of it and what to do with it once it grows. Then everybody made pizza. Chef Jacquelyn Guasemel is a mom and a veteran, and she runs Robert Irvine Foundation cooking classes for military families with the parents and the kids in the kitchen together. Groceries are expensive. Fresh, nutritious food can be the first thing to go. These classes are about simple recipes and techniques that work on a real budget. At a recent class at the USO at Fort Belvoir, three families cooked together. The kids built confidence, learned what goes into a good meal, and had fun doing it with their parents. Thank you to the Fort Belvoir USO for making it happen. #RobertIrvineFoundation #MilitaryFamilies #FortBelvoir #USO #CookingTogether #MilitaryKids

Thursday, September 10. Cleveland. You walk into Market Garden Brewery, grab a beer, and work your way through four food stations built for this one night by Chef Robert Irvine. You meet people you have not met. You eat something you will still be describing next week. That is the evening. It is also the point. We believe food does more than feed people. It brings them to a table, and around that table nobody stands alone. The next day, on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the Robert Irvine Foundation and Market Garden host a Breaking Bread With Heroes meal for Cleveland first responders. Proceeds from the September 10 event help make programs and experiences like these possible for service members, veterans, first responders, and their families. Limited capacity. Reserve now: opentable.com/booking/experi… @RobertIrvine @MarketGardenCLE

Our nation’s service members, veterans, and first responders spend their lives showing up for others. This summer, O.A.R. made sure they felt that support in return. 🇺🇸 Throughout the Three Decades Tour, O.A.R. has helped bring our nation’s heroes together, from pre-show Breaking Bread with Heroes dinners to unforgettable moments recognizing veterans in the crowd and on stage. Because sometimes it starts with something simple: a meal, a conversation, a moment that reminds someone they are not alone. Now, as the tour comes to a close, you have a chance to be part of that mission AND join O.A.R. and Chef Robert Irvine for an unforgettable final stop in Tampa. Enter for a chance to win: ✈️ Round-trip airfare for you and a guest to Tampa⁠ 🏨 Two nights of accommodations at Hard Rock Hotel Tampa, plus a $250 dining credit⁠ 🎟️ Two VIP tickets to O.A.R.’s final Three Decades Tour stop at The BayCare Sound on November 12⁠ 🍹 A backstage meet and greet with O.A.R. and Chef Robert Irvine⁠ 🍽️ An invitation to the Three Decades Tour Wrap Celebration dinner, prepared by Chef Robert Irvine⁠ ⁠ Entries start at just $15. Your donation helps the Robert Irvine Foundation continue providing food, wellness, and community programs that strengthen the men, women, and families who serve. @RobertIrvine @ofarevolution For more information visit: oarsweeps.com

What happens when you combine a family favorite, a few hidden vegetables, and some time together in the kitchen? Recently, the Robert Irvine Foundation kicked off our Cooking with Military Families initiative at the USO at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with the Gonzalez family. Ms. Gonzalez and her two daughters, ages 9 and 11, came with a goal many parents can relate to: finding simple ways to add more colorful vegetables to meals, especially ones her 9-year-old would actually enjoy. Since Italian food is already a family favorite, RIF Chef Jacquelyn Guasemel introduced them to six recipes that added more fresh, colorful ingredients to foods they already love. One of the favorites? Turkey and pork meatballs with three different vegetables hidden inside. The girls loved them. But the best part was watching Mom and her daughters laugh, learn, and spend time together as they rolled meatballs side by side. As Chef Jackie shared, “It’s about so much more than preparing a meal. It’s about bringing families together in the kitchen, building confidence and healthy habits, and showing kids that nutritious food can still be fun and delicious.” Through Cooking with Military Families, we’re helping families build healthy habits while creating something just as important: time to slow down, connect, and enjoy being together. Because sometimes a shared meal starts long before everyone sits down at the table. Swipe for Chef Jackie’s Hidden Veggies Meatball Recipe, and visit our website for more healthy recipes and to learn about RIF’s food programs: robertirvinefoundation.org/p…

Self-care can easily fall to the bottom of the list, especially for veterans navigating busy lives and the transition back to civilian life. Mission: VetFit, powered by @goeosfit, creates dedicated time for veterans to focus on their physical and emotional well-being while building community alongside fellow veterans. Through weekly sessions with a trainer, participants build strength, manage stress and develop healthy habits they can carry into everyday life. Just as importantly, they have a place to connect with others who understand the transition from military service. Because wellness isn’t just about getting stronger. It’s about having the tools, habits and community to keep moving forward. When you support the Robert Irvine Foundation, you help make programs like Mission: VetFit possible for the heroes we serve. Learn more and support the Robert Irvine Foundation's wellness programs: robertirvinefoundation.org/p…

Healthy eating during a demanding training schedule doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Chef Jacquelyn Guasemel of the Robert Irvine Foundation teamed up with @bluestarfamily for a hands-on cooking and meal-prep class with 15 Airmen and Guardians currently in training and staying at the Honor Guard dorms. Together, they prepared four nutritious, high-protein meals while learning practical meal-prep skills they can use on their own. And they proved healthy eating can work on a budget: four different meals for 15 participants came to just $3.74 per meal. Each participant also received meal-prep containers to stock their refrigerators for the weekend, while Blue Star Families provided aprons and shelf-stable pasta meal kits for another meal at home. But readiness is about more than what’s on the plate. RIF’s Michael Schlitz joined the group to provide Crisis Response “Bad Day” Planning and Lethal Means Safety training, giving these Airmen and Guardians additional tools to support their well-being and one another. From building confidence in the kitchen to strengthening mental and emotional readiness, the day was about equipping our service members with practical tools they can carry throughout their military careers and beyond. Thank you to Blue Star Families, Michael, Chef Jackie and the Airmen and Guardians who joined us for a meaningful day of food, connection and readiness. Learn more about how we’re fueling the physical, mental and emotional readiness of our military community at robertirvinefoundation.org.

For U.S. Marine Corps veteran Juan Ramirez, food is more than a meal. It’s a way to bring people together. After two tours in Iraq, Juan carried the discipline, resilience, and brotherhood of his military service into a new mission. Inspired by the diverse cultures of the men and women he served alongside, Juan founded El Jefe Latin Kitchen, blending the bold flavors of South America, Puerto Rico and Cuba into food rooted in culture, family and connection. But Juan’s journey to entrepreneurship is also deeply personal. After navigating injury, anxiety and depression, he found purpose and healing through cooking and sharing meals that remind people of home. Today, with his two children as his greatest inspiration, Juan pours love, legacy and a whole lot of flavor into every dish. Through our Let’s Chow program, we’re proud to support veteran entrepreneurs like Juan as they turn their passion into a new mission and build businesses that bring people together. Based in San Diego and serving Southern California, follow Juan’s journey on instagram: instagram.com/el_jefe_latin_…

On this day in 2007, we had the absolute pleasure of visiting US military bases in Kuwait and Iraq as part of a USO trip to entertain the troops. We met so many incredible people who shared their stories with us, and inspired us to pen “War Song” and “52-50”. We’re so extremely grateful to be partnered with the @rirvinefound all summer long on our Three Decades Tour in efforts to support active duty, veterans, and their families. That trip back in ‘07 changed us forever, and we’re very thrilled to be able to give back to those who keep us safe thanks to our friend @RobertIrvine.