Soldiers at 10 Army posts have better access to healthy snacks and fresh deli items as part of a new program that puts commissary kiosks and outposts near their barracks or workspaces, according to the Defense Commissary Agency.
Through a partnership with the Army, commissaries have installed kiosks in locations “convenient to soldiers on duty in the middle of the day” and stocked them with items such as sandwiches, salads, sushi, fresh fruit, drinks and other wholesome foods, DeCA officials told Military.com in a recent interview.
Service members can use their meal cards to pay for the items, which meet Army standards for healthy diet and nutrition, according to Defense Commissary Agency Director John Hall.
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“It essentially delivers the [commissary] benefit to where they are, as opposed to them having come to us,” Hall said.
More than a decade ago with the country fighting two wars, then-Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho launched an initiative for her service to understand and respect what she called the “performance triad” — adequate sleep, physical activity and good nutrition.
The idea was that overall performance and mental and physical health would improve if soldiers focused on these pillars of wellness.
While the Army worked to improve the quality of food at mess halls, adopting a color-coded…
