DALLAS – The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is all in to help service members and their families meet their dietary and nutritional goals by making it simple to find healthy meals.
As part of its BE FIT 360 program, designed to support a healthy and active lifestyle, the Exchange offers better-for-you meals, snacks and beverages at its 1,400-plus restaurants, 350 Expresses, more than 625 unattended retail units and nearly 21,000 vending machines.
“Healthy choices are vital to the military’s readiness, resiliency and lethality,” said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Rich Martinez, the Exchange’s senior enlisted advisor. “The Nation’s fighting force can depend on the Exchange to provide the fuel they need to complete the mission.”
All of the Exchange’s restaurants offer healthy options, including:
- Qdoba Mexican Eats offers entrees that can be made with fresh vegetables and grilled chicken, and diners can customize meals to accommodate low-carb, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-friendly, high-protein and low-calorie meal plans.
- Panda Express’ Wok Smart menu includes 12 entrees with 300 calories or fewer, 8 grams of protein or more and fresh veggies. Wok Smart options include string bean chicken breast, kung pao chicken and broccoli beef.
- Panera Bread offers a clean menu, free from all artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and sweeteners. Panera offers sandwiches, soups and salads for less than 500 calories.
- Subway offers more than a dozen sandwiches with 350 calories or fewer including turkey breast, oven-roasted chicken, Veggie Delight and Black Forest ham.
Making healthy choices is also easy on shoppers’ wallets, with participating Exchange restaurants offering $2 off salads, valued at $4 or more, every Wednesday.
Shoppers can easily identify nearly 216 BE FIT-approved items at Expresses with the Healthier Choices, Healthier Lifestyle shelf tags. Shoppers can find drinks and low-sodium snacks with less than 200 calories, including fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, trail mix and nuts, tuna, grass-fed meat snacks, plant-based chips and bottled water.
Service members and Department of Defense civilians can fuel up on better-for-you options closer to where they work via unattended retail units. These fully automated, self-service stores offer fresh salads, sandwiches, fruits, vegetables and other low-calorie snacks, meals and beverages.
The Exchange’s commitment to support healthy lifestyles also extends to its vending machines, with snack items such as baked chips, dried fruit and trail mix, fulfilling the National Automatic Merchandising Association’s Fit Pick requirements. Items contain fewer than 35% of calories from fat, fewer than 10% of calories from saturated fat and fewer than 35% total weight from sugar.
Soldiers, Airmen, Guardians and families can learn more at the Exchange’s BE FIT hub page at ShopMyExchange.com/BeFit.
Social-media-friendly version: The Exchange makes it easy for shoppers to find healthy dining choices, with better-for-you options available throughout restaurants, Expresses and unattended retail units. More: https://wp.me/p9Q7PG-2TK
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Since 1895, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange) has gone where Soldiers, Airmen, Guardians and their families go to improve the quality of their lives by providing valued goods and services at exclusive military pricing. The Exchange is the 52nd-largest retailer in the United States. 100% of Exchange earnings support military communities. In the last 10 years, the Exchange benefit has provided $15 billion in value to the military community, including through contributions to critical military Quality-of-Life programs. The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the Department of Defense and is directed by a Board of Directors. The Exchange is a 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Partner, planning and conducting events and activities that recognize the service, valor and sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans and their families in conjunction with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration. To find out more about the Exchange history and mission or to view recent press releases, please visit our website at http://www.shopmyexchange.com or follow us on X at https://x.com/ExchangePAO.
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Media Notes:
For more information or to schedule an interview with an Exchange representative, please contact Zach Wright, [email protected], or 214-312-6300.
Follow the Exchange:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/shopmyexchange
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shopmyexchange
Instagram: @shopmyexchange