Hungry Heroes, a part of charity The Home Front Cares, provides Fort Carson soldiers with their first taste of home just minutes after their plane touches down in Colorado Springs.

After the soldiers turn in their weapons and go through reintegration at the airport, they go in to a holding area where they’re given their choice of a Coca-Cola, Sprite, or bottled water, and a Quarter Pounder with Cheese courtesy of Coca-Cola and the McDonald’s on Airport Road and Powers Boulevard.Click here for pictures of the airport reintegration and the homecoming ceremony

“McDonald’s has donated over 100,000 burgers since the first soldiers started coming home in 2004. Last year alone, they donated almost 10,000 of them,” said Al Mathews, co-chair of programs for The Home Front Cares.

“Coca-Cola provides all the soft drinks and water. We just ask and they show up. It’s a significant contribution,” he added.

While The Home Front Cares is the one who puts the event together, they rely on the help of other local non profits to help them hand out the goodies.

“There are about 15 different groups that come through. Today it’s the VFW from Monument, but earlier this morning it was USAA. Yesterday we had Military Communities Youth Ministries. It’s all about showing Colorado Springs’ support to these soldiers,” said Mathews. The organizations are put into a rotation and as a flight pops up the next one in line gets it, regardless of the day or time.

On Wednesday afternoon it was the Monument’s VFW Post 7829. They had 4 volunteers at the ready when the flight carrying 120 soldiers and 180 Marines touched down in Colorado Springs. The soldiers were home to stay, the Marines were just passing through. They all got a meal.

“I’ll tell you what, its cool meeting these guys. I’m a Vietnam vet and nobody met us. Everybody meets with these guys and it just makes you feel good,” said Darby Kelly, assistant service officer with VFW Post 7829.

The Home Front Cares doesn’t just hand out burgers and soda at the airport and coordinate the Domino’s pizza at the Special Events Center for the homecoming ceremonies.

Their primary focus is helping the deployed troops and their families with grants when they’re facing financial difficulties. They’ve given out more than $2,000,000 worth of grants since they were founded in 2004. The money has been awarded for everything from car repairs to utility bills to the transportation of family members to their wounded or deceased soldiers.

All they have to do is apply through Army Community Service and go through a review process that can take less than a day.

“These guys have been gone at war for a year. I mean, hell, what we do for them is really pretty small in comparison to what they do for us,” said Mathews.

Volunteers with The Home Front Cares and VFW Post 7829 in Monument hand out Cokes and Quarter Pounders with Cheese to troops returning from deployment as part of the Hungry Heroes program. Photo by KRISTEN DORRIS/ THE GAZETTE