Photo By Sgt. Tayler Schwamb | CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan – Marine Corps Installations Pacific Mess Hall meal...... read more read more
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CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan— New year, new mess halls; Marine Corps Installation Pacific Mess Halls leadership is proud to announce the changes to MCIPAC Mess Halls in 2018 throughout installations on Okinawa, Japan.
In 2018, MCIPAC Mess Halls will be implementing a new “master menu,” meal rates and installing new equipment.
Throughout 2017, MCIPAC leadership worked alongside Headquarters Marine Corp’s dieticians and force fitness instructors to better the Marine Corps wide Fuel to Fight initiative, that was released in 2012, helping push Marines towards a healthier diet.
According to Julie Burks, a semper fit health promotion dietician, the goal of Fuel to Fight is to identify a single system within mess halls that makes it easy for Marines to make healthier choices. The systems intention is to continue to provide identifiable choices, not to prevent options. Foods are color coded as either red, yellow or green based upon the food’s total fat and saturated fat percentage of total calories. Serving sizes listed on the Fuel to Fight food guide are for the majority of active duty Marines, males and females ranging from the ages of 19-30 years old who engage in at least 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the week. The performance, recovery and resiliency of Marines depends upon proper fuel.
“Fuel to Fight is similar to the Army’s initiative Go for Green,” said Gunnery Sgt. Patrick A. Houck, the chief of sustenance for MCIPAC. “When Marines come to the mess hall they have three color options: green, yellow and red. The purpose of [the color coordination] is when the Marine walks up to the food line, they always have a healthy option, and they can identify what is the healthiest option. It’s a way to change their mindset.”
As MCIPAC Mess Halls push eating healthier, they also want to ensure that all sustenance in kind Marines, the Marines who eat at the chow hall, enjoy their meals. Each MCIPAC Mess Hall has a 28 day master menu rotation, with various predesignated meals and options for Marines. Every year MCIPAC leadership gathers Marines from each base aboard Camp Foster, evaluating the meals, taking Marine’s feedback and implementing changes for the following year. In 2017, Marines gathered to evaluate and change the menu for 2018.
Come February, MCIPAC Mess Halls will be working diligently to give Marines healthier options on the hot line and snack line. Fruit will continue to be placed inside of the dessert carousals and Mess halls will be providing premade salads and sandwiches to go.
“Our [military occupational speciality] is the only MOS where if enough people [comment] on it, we change it, we are service based,” said Sgt. Damien Brume, a food service specialist with Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations Pacific-Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Japan. Brume encourages Marines to look up their own healthy preferences and bring it up their chain of command in the fall of 2018.
Yet, the master menu is not the only thing that changed. As technology continues to revolutionize, so do the mess halls.
Within the past year new digitalized systems have been implemented, helping Marines track all sustenance in kind members. The systems help food service specialists track the amount of foot traffic, equating to a certain dollar amount which MCIPAC leadership uses to buy more food.
According to Houck, a new cook-chill facility will be moved from Camp Kinser to Camp Schwab, supporting the food service specialists in providing more options to warfighters with less manpower. Cook-chilled products are premade products that are brought to a near freezing temperature, when the mess halls reproduce it, it’s like a brand new product.
The overall meal rates for service members will also be changed. The new discount meal rates are as follows: Breakfast $2.60, Lunch $4.25, Dinner $3.65, Brunch $4.70, Supper $5.75, Holiday $6.80, and Night $2.60. The standard meal rates are as follows: Breakfast $3.45, Lunch $5.60, Dinner $4.85, Brunch $6.25, Supper $7.65, Holiday $9.10, and Night $3.45.
Food service specialists continue to dedicate long hours to ensure that warfighters can enjoy fresh, healthy and hot meals. As 2018 rolls around MCIPAC leadership and food service specialists strive to better MCIPAC mess halls.
“The most important thing is the Marines,” said Houck.
| Date Taken: | 01.11.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 01.12.2018 06:45 |
| Story ID: | 261937 |
| Location: | OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 206 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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