{"id":3915,"date":"2019-06-13T16:19:57","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T16:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/?p=3915"},"modified":"2019-06-13T16:22:28","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T16:22:28","slug":"army-air-force-and-exchange-leadership-voice-support-for-modern-campus-dining-benefit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/06\/13\/army-air-force-and-exchange-leadership-voice-support-for-modern-campus-dining-benefit\/","title":{"rendered":"Army, Air Force and Exchange Leadership Voice Support for Modern Campus Dining Benefit"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2013 <\/strong>The Army, Air Force and the Department of Defense\u2019s largest retailer are committing to transforming on-installation dining to better meet the nutritional needs of Warfighters.<\/p>\n

At the June 11 Association of Defense Communities\u2019 national summit in Washington<\/a>, Installation Management Command Commander Lt. Gen. Bradley Becker, U.S. Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria and Army & Air Force Exchange Service Director\/CEO Tom Shull joined former Military Community and Family Policy Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Chuck Milam to discuss plans to partner and modernize food service on Army posts and Air Force bases.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s on board,\u201d Milam said. \u201cEveryone wants to do the right thing. Everyone wants to feed our troops healthier options.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Allowing Warfighters to use their meal entitlements at Exchange restaurants and Express convenience stores is at the center of efforts to modernize dining on installations. Service members receive an entitlement for three meals a day in dining facilities, but only use their meal cards for 1.5 or fewer meals daily, Milam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are going out of pocket outside the military dining facility to spend their own money,\u201d he said. \u201cTheir entitlement isn\u2019t being used.\u201d<\/p>\n

A campus-dining model will optimize the meal entitlement program, Shull said, especially appealing to younger generations of Soldier and Airmen who expect more choices.<\/p>\n

\u201cEfficiencies will be gained, and healthy food will be more accessible and convenient,\u201d Shull said. \u201cThe Exchange is all in. This will increase retention and benefit readiness and resiliency for Warfighters and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

An eight-month-old Air Force Academy campus dining pilot is already under way that the Exchange is soon expected to join.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to partner with the Exchange so Cadets can go to an Exchange restaurant, giving them choices and allowing them to use their entitlement,\u201d Silveria said.<\/p>\n

Test locations are being considered for the Army as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs IMCOM partners with the Army G-4, G-9, the commissary, the Exchange and more, campus dining is the answer,\u201d Becker said. \u201cThis will offer another option for our service members to use their meal card and use the benefit they have to get healthy options without necessarily going to the dining facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Exchange is aligned with Operative Live Well, Healthy Army Communities and Air Force Smarter Fueling. All of the Exchange\u2019s 1,700 restaurants serve better-for-you options\u2014and 108 million meals are served annually.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have grown our better-for-you concepts dramatically,\u201d Shull said. \u201cSubway, Boston Market, Freshens\u2014the list goes on. We are committed to making sure our restaurants offer meals that are nutritious and taste good. Additionally, the Exchange has the capacity to serve an additional 50 million meals each year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exchange Express convenience stores offer more than 450 BE FIT items, including salads, fruit and other grab-and-go fare. For the Exchange, Shull said, campus dining will allow the organization to further strengthen force readiness and resiliency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an obligation to support Warfighters,\u201d Shull said. \u201cWe want to be part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook-friendly version: <\/strong>The Army, Air Force and the Department of Defense\u2019s largest retailer are committing to transforming on-installation dining to better meet the nutritional needs of Warfighters, including allowing meal entitlements to be used at Army & Air Force Exchange Service restaurants and convenience stores. Read more: https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Q7PG-119<\/a><\/p>\n

— 30 —<\/p>\n

Since 1895, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange) has gone where Soldiers, Airmen 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 61st-largest retailer in the United States. Its earnings provided $2.3 billion in dividends to support military morale, welfare and recreation programs over the last 10 years. 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<\/a> or follow us on Twitter at https:\/\/twitter.com\/ExchangePAO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

Media Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>For more information or to schedule an interview with an Exchange representative please contact Julie Mitchell, 214-312-3327 or mitchelljul@aafes.com.<\/p>\n

Follow the Exchange:<\/p>\n

Facebook:\u00a0 www.facebook.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter:\u00a0 https:\/\/twitter.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Instagram: @shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2013 The Army, Air Force and the Department of Defense\u2019s largest retailer are committing to transforming on-installation dining to better meet the nutritional needs of Warfighters. At the June 11 Association of Defense Communities\u2019 national summit in Washington, Installation Management Command Commander Lt. Gen. Bradley Becker, U.S. Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":3918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press_releases"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/06\/13\/army-air-force-and-exchange-leadership-voice-support-for-modern-campus-dining-benefit\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Army, Air Force and Exchange Leadership Voice Support for Modern Campus Dining Benefit","url":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/06\/13\/army-air-force-and-exchange-leadership-voice-support-for-modern-campus-dining-benefit\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/06\/13\/army-air-force-and-exchange-leadership-voice-support-for-modern-campus-dining-benefit\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/06\/48056120193_d10e1a1972_k-1-e1560442761400.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/06\/48056120193_d10e1a1972_k-1-e1560442761400.jpg"},"articleSection":"Press Releases","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julie Mitchell"}],"creator":["Julie Mitchell"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Exchange Newsroom","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2019-06-13T16:19:57Z","datePublished":"2019-06-13T16:19:57Z","dateModified":"2019-06-13T16:22:28Z"},"rendered":"