Photo By Chad Menegay | A food service professional carves brisket as part of the Victory Fresh dining site...... read more read more
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. – With support from the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, Victory Fresh at the Garrison Warrior Restaurant at Fort Lee, Virginia, delivers fast, nutritious meals that help Soldiers boost performance and readiness.
A ribbon cutting on Feb. 24, 2026, officially marked the opening, making this the second spot on the map for Victory Fresh. Victory Fresh is one of the many initiatives enabled through ASC and its subordinate Logistics Readiness Centers. ASC provides the Army’s global sustainment backbone, which includes everything from food and clothing to maintenance and materiel readiness, while LRCs carry out that mission at the installation level. LRC Fort Lee manages the day‑to‑day logistics that keep dining operations running, ensuring programs like Victory Fresh have the resources and support needed to serve Soldiers effectively.
“Today is about taking care of our Soldiers, about our people,” said Lt. Gen. Michelle K. Donahue, Headquarters Department of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G4 (Logistics). “A healthy force is a ready force, and Victory Fresh is a giant leap forward in fueling our Soldiers. We aren’t just cutting this ribbon today, we're sending a clear message that we are committed to providing the very best fuel for their bodies, directly supporting their readiness and the lethality of our force.”
Fort Lee’s Victory Fresh location primarily serves young Soldiers there for Army Advanced Individual Training. The hope is to eventually expand the model across the force, with data from Fort Lee’s program being used to make it successful worldwide.
“We have received very positive feedback from Soldiers and leaders,” said Carlos Gainer, director of Logistics Readiness Center Fort Lee. “The food service workers are excited and motivated as well.” A soft opening allowed visitors to try out several of the new menu items weeks ahead of the official ribbon cutting. Action stations such as hot barbecue, Asian fusion, southwestern, freshly made pizza, build-your-own power bowls, wraps and salads, and lunch boxes offer variety and flexibility for diners. Grab-and-go options and extended hours provide convenience for Soldiers that want something other than a sit-down dining facility experience.
The Victory Fresh program brings a new approach to fueling Soldiers in training environments, combining convenience with high-quality ingredients. It’s aligned with the Army’s broader holistic health and fitness program, which emphasizes the importance of nutrition for overall Soldier well-being and readiness. Designed in collaboration with unpaid special consultant Chef Robert Irvine, it gives Soldiers one more way to take care of themselves while they train. Healthy, well-fed Soldiers perform better, recover faster, and stay mission ready. The energy inside the new space at Fort Lee matches the pace of the Soldiers it serves, focusing on quick, healthy options. From dry‑rubbed brisket to eight different pizza options, Victory Fresh offers meals that taste good, meet nutritional standards, and fit the fast‑paced schedules of Soldiers who often need something on the go.
While traditional Army dining facilities are limited to availability at certain times, have a smaller variety of food, and aren’t designed to be a grab-and-go environment, Irvine designed the menu to be both flavorful and healthy to help Soldiers fuel their bodies without sacrificing time or quality. ASC teams spent close to two years preparing the site at Fort Lee and aligning resources and support to ensure a smooth experience for visitors.
“The planning required a coordinated, multi-agency effort that blended strategic planning, operational alignment, and on-the-ground execution,” explained Eveline Rosado-Haliday, food program manager at LRC Fort Lee. “The experience has been a collaborative working group effort involving multiple agencies aligned towards achieving the commander’s vision.” Rosado-Haliday said the planning included collaboration with Army contracting team members and contractors within the Army.
Those involved ensured Victory Fresh had proper equipment and a refreshed space including ovens, stations, electrical upgrades, a refrigerator for grab-and-go items and an overall aesthetic refresh. Gainer agreed that teamwork has driven Victory Fresh at Fort Lee’s success so far.
“The LRC manages the dining facilities and oversees the full food service contract, which is the contract vehicle for Victory Fresh,” Gainer said. “We worked hand-in-hand with everyone along the way and coordinated all equipment, facility modifications and contract modifications. We also ensured the contractor’s participation in training, ordering food, and execution.” He added that the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence and Army Quartermaster Corps and School played a big role in the effort. They directly influence food service policy, menu standards and approvals, and subsistence cataloging for all food service.
The Quartermaster Corps and School, which JCCoE falls under, train Soldiers and Civilians in areas of quartermaster skills and functions, which includes things such as logistics, mortuary affairs, and culinary services. Food service includes sanitation, quality assurance, policies and facilities. They’re located at Fort Lee, making this home-based initiative personal.
The preparation also included a site visit to Fort Jackson, South Carolina where Rosado-Haliday and Gainer studied the original Victory Fresh location - which opened in 2023 - learned what worked well, and identified improvements for Fort Lee’s expanded menu and different population.
“Early waste tracking data from the first Victory Fresh location has already driven several meaningful adjustments,” Rosado-Haliday said. “Teams have refined ordering practices to better match actual demand, created a periodic automatic replenishment level for each product, and tightened production timing to avoid over-prepping.”
Rosado‑Haliday said she and her team constantly work to balance nutrition standards with daily operational demands, and that real time oversight is essential. Projected headcounts, storage capacity, production needs, distribution patterns, and progressive cooking data all help her team act early, streamline operations, and prevent food waste. While this is done for all types of food services throughout the Army, Victory Fresh data may offer insights different from other types of food programs since it is unique from traditional dining facilities.
Both Gainer and Rosado-Haliday said they will closely watch diner satisfaction, efficiency, and continued utilization. Eventually, they hope their hard work is part of future Victory Fresh expansions and success.
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2026 14:50 |
| Story ID: | 559125 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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