Soldiers have long complained about dining facilities – everything from the taste and variety of food to the operation hours.
“This is to affect the quality of life, it's the recruiting, it's the retention, food insecurity issues of obesity.” “There's an element of purpose over profit,” he said. Geoff Kent, who is leading the program, said in a presentation posted online that the plans hang on bringing in the right experts from the restaurant industry. The Army Materiel Command, which is responsible for the pilot program, declined to comment on the plans because it’s too early in the process. Hours of operation should go beyond what dining facility schedules maintain now to meet the needs of the community, according to the online request for business proposals.
It asks companies to be responsible for renovating the dining facility to meet the company’s needs, use a sales system that allows soldiers to pay with their basic allowance for subsistence meal card, and offer food that meets the nutrition standards of the service. The proposal lists future locations for the pilot program as Fort Drum, N.Y., Fort Carson, Colo., Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Stewart, Ga., and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. Companies can bid on the contract until May 2, according to the federal government’s award management website.
