Using technology for Veterans Day freebies

As I write this, tomorrow is Veterans Day—for those who celebrate. It’s not a particularly celebratory day for me, but I certainly observe it for the sake of free food and services from local businesses. I’ll even tolerate hearing the words, “Thank you for your service,” if it means I can have pancakes for breakfast. Although I will still respond with something like, “That’s really not necessary; I had a contract. I wouldn’t have enlisted without the paycheck.” I’ll then hand them a customized “Response card.” In my experience, public expressions of gratitude for veterans and the military are mostly performative—especially when they come from politicians.

My wife, Danica, is an elementary school teacher, and her school organizes a Veterans Day assembly every year. Students with parents or other family members who have served are invited to sit on a stage while the kids sing military academy fight songs to them. It’s exactly the sort of celebration that I try to avoid. However, this year, Danica is in charge, and she has decided to forgo a big assembly and instead invite veterans to come and have lunch with the kids. I’ve been told that this has garnered a much more enthusiastic response from veteran family members than their assemblies ever had. I even accepted the invitation.

I was told I could bring lunch or have school lunch. Whatever is on the school’s menu, I wasn’t impressed enough by its description to even remember what it is. Danica suggested I pick up something for free on the way to school.

I usually get an email from the Veterans Administration reminding me of some of these freebies. It’s not difficult to find these offers online, but it’s also the kind of information that gets recycled a lot, and a keyword search might bring up an outdated and inaccurate list.

This year, I opted to use a commercial Large Language Model to help me find a complementary Veterans Day lunch—and/or side dish, beverage, whatever. I also wanted to make sure I had something to share with Danica and could hit as many participating businesses as possible while still making it to the school on time. I even tasked the LLM to help me draft the most effective prompt for any platform. It came up with the following:

ROLE AND GOAL

Act as a careful local trip planner. Build a timed route for Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, 2026 (Mountain Time). Along the way, I want to collect free Veterans Day offers in the Salt Lake City–[Davis County], Utah area, and I need to reach my final destination by 11:00 AM.

CONTEXT

- I am a U.S. military veteran.

- Start: [West side], Salt Lake City, UT.

- Final destination: [School Address]. My wife teaches there and invited me to a Veterans Day event.

- Must arrive by: 11:00 AM. Plan to arrive 10 minutes early.

- Travel mode: Car

- Earliest departure: As soon as businesses are open and offering free stuff!

PRIORITIES (in order)

1. Arrive on time. Any stops that put my arrival at risk should be added to a separate list, in geographical order, that I can visit at my own pace on the way back home.

2. Free food or drinks I can get without dining in: drive-thru, takeout, curbside, or grab-and-go.

3. Other free items or services along the way, if time allows.

REQUIREMENTS

- Include only offers confirmed for Veterans Day 2026. Cite the source for each one, such as the company's official site or social media, or a reputable news report. Don't assume a prior year's offer is repeating. If you can't confirm an offer for 2026, label it "unconfirmed" and keep it out of the main route.

- For each stop, check that the specific location is open in time and is taking part. Many offers are "at participating locations," so mark any stop where local participation isn't confirmed.

- State any conditions: proof of service required (VA card, DD-214, military ID, veteran-designated driver's license), dine-in only, purchase required, time limits, or app sign-up.

- Exclude dine-in-only offers. You may list them separately as "skipped: dine-in only."

- Use realistic morning-rush travel times on I-15 and local roads, and budget extra wait time at each stop (Veterans Day lines can be long).

- Favor stops near the route between Salt Lake City and [my destination] rather than detours.

- Don't make up businesses, addresses, hours, or offers. If you can't verify something, say so.

OUTPUT FORMAT

1. Summary: number of stops, departure time, expected arrival time, and items to bring (ID, documents).

2. Route table with these columns: Stop #, Business, Address, Arrive, Depart, Offer, Conditions/ID, Confirmed for 2026 (Y/N), Source.

3. Backup stops: 2–3 confirmed alternates near the route, in case a stop is closed or the line is too long.

4. Notes: assumptions, unverified items, and anything I should call ahead to confirm.

I entered this prompt into four separate LLM websites. The best results came from the service that I actually subscribe to. I’m not saying which one it is because they’re making me pay for it instead of letting me use it for free because I’m a veteran, so %#@$ them.

Happy Veterans Day!