The Army is planning to revamp its dining halls in an attempt to “modernize” the facilities to provide more dining options for service members, according to a request for proposal released Tuesday.
The proposal, first reported by Task & Purpose, describes implementing base dining facilities reminiscent of college campus cafeterias encompassing traditional dine-in options, online ordering, a surplus of healthy food and potentially even food delivery at select Army bases.
The service, according to the document, will partner with a private contractor to turn existing dining facilities into a “modern 21st Century venue that creates an environment that will foster unit esprit de corps [and] provide ambiance that is inviting to single Soldiers and Families alike,” including “recreational activities” and “social gathering areas” for service members.
The service will also privately contract chefs and kitchen staff to meet specific nutritional goals, including healthy options that “meet a range of dietary, religious, and medical meal needs,” as well as food that’s sustainably sourced, local, organic, humane and contains no antibiotics or hormones.
Further, the contractor is instructed to provide operating hours beyond the Army’s traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner hours “based on demand of the location patron populations of each garrison community,” according to the document.
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The dining hall renovations will take place at Fort Liberty, North Carolina; Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fort Cavazos, Texas; Fort Drum, New York; and Fort Carson, Colorado.
Fort Liberty’s Victory Warrior Restaurant will be the first base dining facility to undergo changes, though a timeline for completing the new facility has not been provided.
Troops have long griped about the state of military-run dining facilities, from poor food quality to limited hours and options.
Recently, service members at Fort Carson complained last month of scant portions and unappetizing meals at base dining facilities, including warm sushi and inadequate protein options, on Hots&Cots, an app where service members anonymously rate sleeping arrangements and dining options.
Soldiers also reported waiting 45 minutes to get their food and uploaded photos showing empty grab-and-go kiosks.
Most military installations had only one review on the Hots&Cots, but Fort Carson was the recipient of 39 posts as of early December.
“The amount of protein you get is terrible,” one soldier posted. “The food is small, corn barely bigger than my pinky … rice overcooked, bread hard. Terrible vegetable spread.”
At the time, Lt. Col. Joey Payton, a Fort Carson spokesperson, acknowledged the nutritional shortcomings and vowed to provide proper meals to soldiers.
“We recognize that we’ve had some challenges with consistency and quality of our soldiers’ dining experiences at our warrior restaurants and kiosks,” Payton said.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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