Beam Inc., Deerfield, Ill., donated 2,000 meals to military service members and their families through its annual “Holiday Meals for Military Families” program. In partnership with Operation Homefront and nearly 50 business partners, Beam visited six active military bases across the Midwest and Northeast, which is double the number of donated meals from last year, the company said.

Beam hosted events across the country, including at Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Knox, Ky.; and Naval Station Great Lakes near Chicago.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to Operation Homefront and the military, this is just our small way of giving back during the holidays to our service men and women who have given so much to our country,” said Ken Ruff, vice president of national accounts for on-premise for Beam, in a statement. “All of us at Beam are honored to host our Holiday Meals program for the third year in a row so that these members of the military can spend more time with their families without worrying about the cost of groceries when organizing their holiday meals.”

This year also marks the first text-to-donate and online giving program in which people can pledge additional support to the initiative. One hundred percent of the donations received through text or online will go toward military families and the Holiday Meals effort.

Beam also recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Cooley Distillery, an independent Irish whiskey producer. The acquisition of Cooley will mark Beam’s entrance into one of the spirits industry’s fastest-growing categories, the company says. The purchase price is approximately $95 million on a debt-free basis.