Arlington, Virginia - Department of the Navy (DON) leadership recognized Sailors, Marines, Civilians and their families that participated in the 6th annual "Feds Feed Families" (FFF) campaign during a ceremony held at the Pentagon Memorial Chapel, November 14th.

The Navy and Marine Corps collected over 1.5 million pounds of food June 1 through August 27, to help combat hunger in local communities across the country and around the world.

Participation went beyond the national boundaries and extended to the far reaches of deployed Marines and Sailors around the globe.

"There is no way to say thank you enough, to the many hard working men and women who have made the 2014 Feds Feed Families Campaign a success," said Cmdr. Phillip King, commander Naval Installations Command, Chaplin Corps, during his fleet acceptance remarks. "But our gratitude can be expressed by being willing to join with them in the days ahead pledging a renewed effort through these holidays and again with the campaign in 2015."

The FFF campaign is a yearly drive, led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which allows federal employees to donate perishable and non-perishable food items for area food banks. Last year the overall federal campaign brought in 9 million pounds of food in which the Navy contributed 1.2 million of the 1.8 million pounds from the Department of Defense.

"This year's goal was to create interaction and understanding of how the program benefits the community," said Thea Lopez, DON Feds Feed Families operations officer. "With the leadership and support of the Marine Corps Installations Command and Commander Navy Installations Command Chaplains, every Marine and Sailor has the resources, points of contact, and motivated support to make the most of their volunteerism."

This year, the Navy and Marine Corps contributed over 1.5 million pounds of food making the total DON contributions over 5 million pounds to date.