Photo By Eric Petrevich | Capt. Tamara Osgood, chief of Nutrition Care, Task Force 115th Medical, shows one...... read more read more
By Maj. Jason Fetterolf
50th IBCT Public Affairs
CAMP BUCCA, Iraq - The Camp Bucca Dining Facility team kicked off the first nutritional program of its kind in the Iraq theater of operations at the 24-hour "Bucca Inn" DFAC on Nov. 19.
This program, called "Go for Green", is a food identification program being initiated in all medical command dining facilities in the United States in order to focus on preventative health and to guide Service members to eat the proper food.
The "Go for Green" food identification program was designed by a working group of Army dietitians in the U.S., but now is a local initiative at Camp Bucca, led by Capt. Tamara Osgood, chief of Nutrition Care, Task Force 115th Medical.
Providing enthusiastic support for this Soldier-run program is 1st Lt. Eric Petrevich of Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 102nd Cavalry Regiment,
50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, dining facility officer-in-charge, and Master Sgt. Norma DeAlcala, Headquarters and Headquarters Co., 42nd Military Police Brigade, dining facility noncommissioned officer-in-charge. Staff Sgt. LaWan Collins, C Battery, 3-4 Air Missile Defense, senior food operations sergeant, was also instrumental
in the development of this program.
The "Go for Green" program educates Service members by identifying foods and assigning them to one of three categories, using a red-amber-green scale that many are familiar with. "Green" food items are lowest in calories and fat and highest in fiber.
"Amber" foods are moderate in calories, fat, and fiber. "Red" foods are highest in calories and fat and lowest in fiber. The program directs Service members to choose mostly "green" foods, that are considered nutrient-dense, high-performance fuel for athletes. "Soldiers are athletes, so they need to eat like athletes," explained Osgood.
Each food item offered at the dining facility has an easy-to-see color coded card or sign above the food item at the serving station, and a sample plate demonstrating what an all "green" plate would look like is displayed at each meal time.
"These signs will absolutely steer me in the right direction as far as what foods to choose, and what to stay away from," said Dallas, Texas, native and recent Carteret, N.J., resident Sgt. 1st Class Brian K. Townsend, B Co., 2-113th Infantry Battalion.
With 11,000 to 12,000 meals served daily in the Bucca Inn and with many Service members' busy schedules and limited down-time, there are some important benefits
to this program.
"With the Soldiers, it's easier to see it's only a color; it's easy to see on the plate what proportions of food types are needed [as the plates in the DFAC are split 25/25/50 percent]," noted Osgood. "It [Go for Green] makes Soldiers more aware of what they are eating."
"[It will] promote a healthier lifestyle," added DeAlcala.
One of the goals of the "Go for Green" program is for it to be quickly understandable and simple to follow, and Staff Sgt. Nader Shenouda, 50th Chemical Co., agrees that it is. "I live in the world of 2008; I need it now, I need it fast."
"It's a simple program; even if you don't know anything about nutrition, it is self-explanatory," added Spc. Daniela Jara, 50th Chemical Co., and a Woodbridge, N.J. native.
Not a short-term program, the "Go for Green" program is designed to educate Service members on what food types are healthy even after they leave Camp Bucca.
"We are expecting that Soldiers will lose weight here, and will bring back valuable education that stays with them the rest of their lives, while improving their health , welfare and self-esteem," said Petrevich.
Some Service members expect some prosperous results from the "Go for Green" program.
"If they keep the rules of what to eat, I believe that at the end of this tour I will be in much better shape than when I got here," said Townsend.
"What I want to do is get down to 30 pounds ago," added Shenouda, a native of South
River, N.J.
Much planning was required to get this program started. Despite having no formal training in food service management and limited resources, Petrevich, a New Jersey National Guardsman and native of Hunterdon County, N.J., overcame these challenges. He put together all graphic displays and signage and communicated often with Kellogg, Brown and Root, the dining facility contractor, in order to make the program work. Furthermore, his dining facility team provides daily management needed to keep this program running smoothly and shares a unity of vision for the benefit of the diners.
"This program, in short, is to make the best Soldiers, better," said Petrevich.
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 12.20.2008 06:13 |
| Story ID: | 27934 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 443 |
| Downloads: | 139 |
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