Fort Meade is home to more than 64,000 dedicated men and women who are on the frontlines of a global battle in cyber space and beyond. Our national defense depends on the health and wellbeing of these valued individuals.

The Fort Meade Alliance and the Fort Meade Alliance Foundation, together with the Garrison, are focused on the five pillars of resiliency: emotional, physical, social, family and spiritual, as well as providing service personnel, their spouses and the DoD community with vital resources to help them thrive.

The Fort Meade Alliance and the Fort Meade Alliance Foundation successfully raised $5.3 million for the construction of the Education and Resiliency Center at Kuhn Hall — which is a centralized location of information, programming and services for our Fort Meade community. Since opening in November 2022, it was clear that a coordination of internal and external resources was needed to help Fort Meade service personnel, their families and the DoD actively use available resources.

The Fort Meade Resiliency Services Portal is a hub of resources that connects the communities inside and outside the fenceline. The portal, along with the physical kiosks located throughout Fort Meade, are an easy-to-use site divided into nine categories, fulfilling at least one of the five pillars of resiliency. The goal is to provide connections that make Fort Meade feel like home.

The nutritional cooking class, Meal in a Mug, teaches service personnel how to make healthy, affordable meals. The program fosters good eating habits, self-reliance, and self-confidence through an easy-to-make meal. Nutritional cooking classes function as potential first steps in combating both Fort Meade’s problematic obesity issues and the suicidal ideation rate.

In partnership with Healthy Little Cooks, a nonprofit organization that helps to inspire and educate children, families, companies, and individuals to eat healthy, the FMA hosts nutritional cooking classes for Fort Meade families. While preparing their meal, participants of all ages learn tangible cooking skills, discover different cuisines and cultures, spend quality family time together, while fostering sustainable eating habits for the future.

Family cooking classes will be offered monthly starting September 17th at the Potomac Place Neighborhood Center. For more information, please contact Audrey Borba at aborba@ftmeadealliance.org.