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NRA MILITARY TRAINING

and another is encouraging managers and chefs to have such as Wi-Fi and sports cable television channels.
conversations with the customers. An Air Force member of the marketing team considered
Lodging on base is another source of potential custom- the weekly Commander’s Call Topics a useful marketing
ers, which the dining facility proposed to reach by using channel, and asked others if each of the services had an
maps highlighting its location. The Navy exchange, post equivalent. Commander’s Call Topics help ensure leaders
exchange, fitness facility and other installation service at all Air Force levels are current on issues concerning air-
areas were key sites being identified to advertise the din- men and their families.
ing facility.
Brainstorming during planning led to discussion about OPPOSITE OF CONVENTIONAL
using base newspapers and social media to highlight the What a team with members from Joint Base McGuire-
dining facility’s food and nutritional information, includ- Dix-Lakehurst set out to accomplish when designing its
ing links to facts, as well as its entertainment resources, dining facility was revealed in the name: 180 Degrees.
The team wanted an approach
that was the complete opposite of
conventional dining facilities and
built around the theme: “wholesome,
clean, fresh food, fueling you to fight
another day.”
It accelerates the trend toward
healthy eating with a sustainable
menu containing fewer processed
foods and including 100 percent
juice at every meal, brewed tea and
coffee, 2 percent milk and a 30-item
salad bar.
The team committed to healthy
eating with innovative twists on
conventional favorites, like a lentil
taco, plus seafood entrées, like pan-
seared halibut and blackened fish with
mango salsa, toasted millet, black bean
enchiladas, chickpea dumpling soup
and chowders in winter.
To achieve its goal, the team real-
ized success involved working with
the Defense Logistics Agency Troop
Support to obtain local sourcing and
contribute to stimulating the nearby
economy.
In planning the dining facility,
the team considered improving meal
access for those with irregular work
schedules. The dining facility would
be manned and operate all day with
full-service to-go availability 24 hours
a day from a drive-through window
instead of midnight meals.
Marketing emphasizes the healthy
eating message, and includes getting
the word out with ads on Armed
Forces Radio and Television, as well
as emails sent to all on the base, in-
cluding officers.
INNOVATION
Garden State Café, the final con-
tender, adds to the theme of creat-
ing an innovative dining facility that
26 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • JULY 2017