Food Program: DOD Should Formalize Its Process for Revising Food Ingredients and Better Track Dining Facility Use and Costs
Fast Facts
Looking at the Department of Defense's food program—which aims to provide nutritious and cost-effective food service for its servicemembers—we found:
- DOD developed a way to coordinate with other federal agencies and the food industry on changes to food ingredients, but hasn't formalized it
- While DOD tracks some servicemembers' use of dining facilities, it doesn't track their use of meal benefits—missing opportunities to improve the food program
- DOD doesn't collect some program cost information from the military services, making it hard to get a full picture of department-wide costs
Our recommendations could help DOD improve its program.
Dining facility at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia
Highlights
What GAO Found
Since 2017, the Department of Defense (DOD) has been working to develop a new process for making food ingredient decisions, based on its menu standards for providing nutritious food to servicemembers. However, GAO found that DOD has not coordinated with all stakeholders or formalized the process. In response to concerns voiced by food industry representatives that DOD was not sufficiently transparent in making food ingredient decisions, such as prohibiting certain ingredients, DOD drafted a process map for including food industry and other federal agency stakeholders in those decisions. However, while DOD actively sought input from the food industry, it did not similarly engage with other federal agencies—such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture—and some DOD components in developing the new process. DOD also did not formalize its food process map by, for example, clearly identifying stakeholder roles and responsibilities in the proposed process. Coordinating with all stakeholders and formalizing the process would help ensure that DOD has a more transparent and reliable method for making informed food ingredient decisions.
GAO also found that DOD does not track key information about its food program. For example, while the military services track head count data—numbers and types of diners who purchase meals at their dining facilities—most do not track the extent to which servicemembers with a meal entitlement use their benefit. Tracking these data would help DOD meet its goal of providing nutritious meals to servicemembers and assess its food program's effectiveness.
Ship's Cabin Galley (Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia) and Kiosk (Fort Carson, Colorado)
In addition, the military services do not track complete and consistent information on key costs, such as food costs and equipment maintenance costs. Further, the military services reported food costs differently in their fiscal year 2021 budget justifications. Specifically, the military services varied in the line items they used in their respective budget exhibits to report food costs for basic trainees or personnel in non-pay status. By collecting standard data on food program costs at military installations, DOD would improve its ability to measure food program performance, compare operations across installations, properly allocate resources, and control or reduce costs. Further, by reporting more consistent information about food costs in its budget submissions, DOD would improve budget transparency and enable Congress to conduct more effective oversight.
Why GAO Did This Study
DOD's food program policy is to provide high-quality and cost-effective food service to military and civilian personnel. To fulfill the objectives of its food service program, DOD relies on multiple food supply chains and dining facilities at military installations worldwide.
Two congressional committee reports included provisions for GAO to report on DOD's menu standards, coordination with private industry on food ingredient changes, and military services' use and costs of dining facilities. This report evaluates the extent to which 1) DOD developed and implemented processes to determine and revise menu standards and food ingredient requirements; 2) the military services track the use of their dining facilities by servicemembers with a meal entitlement; and 3) the military services track the costs of their dining facilities to develop budget requests. GAO reviewed laws and guidance; administered questionnaires; and interviewed officials from DOD, other agencies, and private industry.
Recommendations
GAO is making 11 recommendations to DOD, including that DOD coordinate its revised food ingredient process with all stakeholders and formalize it; track servicemembers' use of meal entitlements; and identify and report standard data on food program costs. DOD concurred with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Defense Logistics Agency or other DOD entity, such as the forthcoming Defense Feeding and Nutrition Board, coordinates with key stakeholders within DOD and at other federal agencies as well as consults with industry as it develops DOD's formal process for revising food ingredients. (Recommendation 1) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that it is working to implement the Defense Feeding and Nutrition Board (or similarly named entity) to provide a single executive board with the level of authority and oversight to centralize, optimize, and make decisions on DOD nutrition strategy and policy. DOD stated that the Board will decide on a way forward, coordinate with key stakeholders from federal agencies and consult with industry. DOD estimated the actions will be completed by June 30, 2024. We will continue to monitor DOD's actions to determine if they will meet the intent of our recommendation when completed.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure the Defense Logistics Agency or other DOD entity, such as the forthcoming Defense Feeding and Nutrition Board, finalizes its formal process for revising food ingredients that includes estimated timeframes for steps in the process and identifies specific key stakeholders from other federal agencies and industry. (Recommendation 2) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that the proposed Defense Feeding Nutrition Board (or similarly named entity) will include representatives from the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, which is the primary stakeholder with expertise in nutritional requirements of service members and developed the original draft food ingredients process map. DOD stated that the Board will decide on a way forward and coordinate with key stakeholders from federal agencies to develop the formal process for revising food ingredients. As the formal process is finalized, it will include estimated timeframes for steps in the process and a defined organizational structure with clearly assigned responsibilities. DOD estimated that these actions will be completed by September 30, 2025. We will continue to monitor DOD's actions and determine whether they address the intent of the recommendation when completed.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of the Army should ensure that food program officials track the extent to which servicemembers with a meal entitlement use their entitlement. (Recommendation 3) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that the Army submitted a software change to update the Army Food Management Information System to capture essential station messing (meal entitlement) dining facility patronage reporting and tracking for location and meal period. DOD stated that it estimates completion by September 30, 2025, of software coding and Army Regulation update for monitoring and frequency reporting. We will continue to monitor the Army's actions to determine whether they meet the intent of the recommendation when completed.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that food program officials track the extent to which servicemembers with a meal entitlement use their entitlement. (Recommendation 4) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that the Navy will coordinate with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) to establish a method to document the eligible meal entitlement population by installation. The Navy plans to create a data analytics program to identify meals taken by service members with a meal entitlement from dining facility data and compare with existing data from DFAS on the number of service members with a meal entitlement to calculate the utilization rate. The Navy estimates that the actions will be completed by October 1, 2024. We will continue to monitor the actions to determine if they meet the intent of the recommendation when completed.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of the Navy, through the Commandant of the Marine Corps, should ensure that food program officials track the extent to which servicemembers with a meal entitlement use their entitlement. (Recommendation 5) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that the Marine Corps developed a report to track the extent to which service members use their meal entitlement by manually obtaining the number of Marines receiving a meal entitlement and comparing to head count reports from the dining facilities. However, this report requires additional analysis to ensure the methodology accurately depicts the number of Marines available to use dining facilities (i.e., excluding deployed Marines). The Marine Corps also submitted a request to the software provider to develop a report that readily provides this information. The Marine Corps stated that the actions will be completed by August 30, 2023. As of December 2023, the Marine Corps had not yet provided documentation that the actions have been completed. We will continue to monitor the actions to determine if they meet the intent of the recommendation when completed.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of the Army should establish a requirement for food program officials to conduct assessments of the effectiveness and efficiency of their installation-wide food programs, including satellite operations, in providing healthy meals to servicemembers with a meal entitlement. (Recommendation 6) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that the Army uses Food Management Assistant Teams (FMATs) to conduct assessments of the effectiveness and efficiency of its food programs in accordance with Army regulations. In addition, the Army provided examples of additional evaluations of food operations including different dining options (for example, satellite sites and food trucks). These efforts included implementing the Army Commitment to Improving Overall Nutrition (ACTION) metrics and development of a dashboard to integrate these evaluations. Army officials also confirmed that these approaches used together provide an installation-wide assessment of all feeding options. We believe that the Army's evaluations address the recommendation and allows for analysis of the tradeoffs entailed in using satellites and nonappropriated-fund venues to provide healthy meals for servicemembers with a meal entitlement.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of the Navy should establish a requirement for food program officials to conduct assessments of the effectiveness and efficiency of their installation-wide food programs, including satellite operations and nonappropriated fund dining venues as appropriate, in providing healthy meals to servicemembers with a meal entitlement. (Recommendation 7) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that the Navy had developed nutrition standards for dining venues other than appropriated fund dining facilities, specifically for Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) nonappropriated fund operations. Further, the Navy expanded assessments to include those sites that allow service members to claim a meal entitlement, and stated it has accreditation site visits scheduled and reports on findings. As of December 2023, the Navy has not provided documentation of the standards, accreditation site visits, or findings reports. We will assess any documentation when provided to determine if these actions meet the intent of the recommendation.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of the Air Force should establish a requirement for food program officials to conduct assessments of the effectiveness and efficiency of their installation-wide food programs, including satellite operations and nonappropriated fund dining venues as appropriate, in providing healthy meals to servicemembers with a meal entitlement. (Recommendation 8) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that the Air Force chartered a working group to develop a comprehensive installation-wide assessment, as well as appropriate metrics to measure effectiveness and efficiency of the current and future Air Force food program. The Air Force stated that once these are finalized, it will begin conducting the assessments, analyze the data, and develop the accompanying policy to codify the approach. The Air Force estimates that these actions will be completed by April 30, 2024. We will continue to monitor the actions to determine if they meet the intent of the recommendation when completed.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of the Navy, through the Commandant of the Marine Corps, should establish a requirement for food program officials to conduct assessments of the effectiveness and efficiency of their installation-wide food programs, including satellite operations, in providing healthy meals to servicemembers with a meal entitlement. (Recommendation 9) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that the Marine Corps reviewed its procedures and developed courses of action for improvement. it will be using Headquarters Marine Corps Food Management Inspection Teams to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of its food program, and a checklist to determine the installations' compliance with guidance and menu standards. According to the Marine corps, it completed these actions in October 2022. As of December 2023, the Marine Corps has not provided documentation to demonstrate an assessment of installation-wide food programs, including satellite operations. We will assess the documentation when provided to determine if these actions meet the intent of the recommendation.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), with the assistance of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment) and in coordination with the military services, establishes guidance that identifies and defines specific categories of costs for use in developing common measures, such as cost per meal, for assessing DOD's food program costs. (Recommendation 10) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. DOD provided an update that it will identify and document the appropriate categories of costs to be used as common measures to assess DOD's food program costs. DOD will also document an action plan to implement performance measures including an assessment of the data required. DOD estimates it will complete these actions by September 30, 2024. We will continue to monitor the actions to determine if they meet the intent of the recommendation when completed.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), in consultation with the military services, establishes clear and consistent definitions of key terms for use in reporting budgetary and financial information related to enlisted personnel subsistence. This information could be provided as part of DOD's annual Military Personnel budget justification materials. (Recommendation 11) |
DOD concurred with this recommendation. As of September 2023, DOD updated budget guidance to define key terms related to enlisted personnel subsistence for use in reporting budgetary and financial information. The updated guidance was used in preparing the Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) exhibits for the fiscal year 2025 President's Budget materials. DOD also completed verification of the military services' compliance with the guidance and provided feedback to the services. DOD stated that it will include monitoring and review of BAS exhibits as part of its budget review process. Based on these actions, we believe that DOD has addressed the recommendation to establish clear and consistent definition of key terms relating to enlisted personnel subsistence budgetary and financial reporting.
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