Robert Irvine Foundation

09/02/2026

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.

Enter now through the link in bio.



For more information visit: oarsweeps.com

08/31/2026

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/programs/food

08/29/2026

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 , 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:
https://www.robertirvinefoundation.org/programs/wellness

08/27/2026

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 Blue Star Families 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. We Face The Fight

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.

08/25/2026

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 at .

08/23/2026

This past year, su***de prevention training became a real-time intervention.

Through Face the Fight, organizations like Robert Irvine Foundation are bringing evidence-informed su***de prevention beyond clinical settings and into the everyday environments where veterans live, work and connect.

At an event this past year, a corporate partner approached our team with concern about a veteran employee experiencing a mental health crisis.

Because of the training made possible through Face the Fight, RIF team members were prepared to respond. They engaged with the veteran, built trust in a critical moment and helped take immediate steps toward safety.

The support didn't end there.

The following day, Robert Yarnall, RIF's Director of Programs and Impact, spent two hours on the phone with the veteran. Together, they developed a personalized Bad Day Plan to help him navigate moments of acute distress and connected him with additional support.

And because Face the Fight is more than training, it's a network, RIF was able to connect the veteran with Stop Soldier Su***de for ongoing clinical care and longer-term support.

This is what prevention can look like in practice: people who know what to look for, know how to respond and know where to turn next.

To date, Face the Fight Coalition partners have trained more than 88,000 people in evidence-informed su***de prevention techniques.

With every person trained, more veterans and communities have someone prepared to respond when it matters most.

***de

For online trainings and additional resources, visit wefacethefight.org/resources/trainings-workshops

08/20/2026

Cleveland - join Chef Robert Irvine at a special fundraiser on 9/10 at Market Garden Brewery.

Guests will receive a chef-curated menu spread across four food stations throughout the brewpub, along with complimentary beer from Market Garden. The evening will benefit the Robert Irvine Foundation and its Breaking Bread with Heroes initiative.

The following day, on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, we will be hosting a Breaking Bread with Heroes event for local first responders again at Market Garden Brewery.

The Sept. 10 event in Ohio City will benefit veterans, service members and first responders through the Robert Irvine Foundation's Breaking Bread with Heroes initiative.

08/20/2026

After service, military units that once spent every day together may go years without seeing their buddies in person. With physical distance limiting communication and closeness, the bonds they built within the military may begin to fade.

Military service can forever alter the trajectory of someone's life. While families understand many of those experiences, there are some things only those who served beside you truly understand. This is why we host Reuniting the Brave events. These gatherings bring veterans and their families together with the people who shared the journey to strengthen connections, honor shared experiences, and help families better understand this important chapter in a veteran's life.

Nourishing these relationships helps make peace with the past, build support for the present, and gain hope for the future.

08/18/2026

"You never know what they've been through, what's going on."

That is Anthony, who cooked the meal, talking about the people he just fed.

Before O.A.R. took the stage at the Highmark Mann Center in Philadelphia, first responders and veterans sat down together to a chef-prepared meal. No program. No ask. Just a table, real food, and time to talk.

He manages the Let's Chow food truck, a program of the Robert Irvine Foundation.

This is Breaking Bread With Heroes. It happens because people like you make it happen. Now you can pull up a chair.

Two VIP tickets to O.A.R. in Tampa on November 12, backstage with the band and Robert, plus the tour wrap dinner he's cooking. Be a part of it. https://www.prizeo.com/sweepstakes/o-a-r/oar-robert-irvine-2026