Letter From The Dant

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
1

<p>In a letter addressed to the Parents of Midshipmen:</p>

<p>Dear Parents,</p>

<p>Naval Academy food was the topic of a recent letter to the editor of the Annapolis Capital in which a local parent raised issues regarding food quantity and quality. We’d like to address some of these issues and help set the record straight regarding how we fulfill our mission of feeding midshipmen.</p>

<p>First, a little background. Food service and quality are important aspects of fitness and morale in the Navy and Marine Corps, and it is no less important here at the Academy. In the Fleet, eating together on ship’s mess decks, in the Chief’s mess and in wardrooms helps officers, Sailors and Marines develop and maintain camaraderie so important to unit cohesiveness and effectiveness. Just as a family nurtures relationships around a dinner table, service men and women do so by eating together. </p>

<p>At the beginning of this academic year, Naval Academy leadership restructured the meal policy for midshipmen to increase the number of meals they were eating together to foster the leadership opportunities similar to the Fleet experience. We experienced some food distribution and quality issues which have been aggressively addressed by Academy leadership, Navy food service experts and, most significantly, by midshipmen, who continue to provide thoughtful and helpful suggestions to ensure all 420 tables in our King Hall dining facility consistently receive the quantity and quality of food they require.</p>

<p>While it is not our intent to discredit the parent who wrote this letter to the editor, it contained a number of inaccuracies, and it is important for you to have factual information regarding our food service operation, which we are committed to ensuring is the best available.</p>

<p>The items below in bold and quotation marks were excerpts taken from the letter. Following each excerpt is factual information about our food service operation.</p>

<p>“Incredibly, since the beginning of the new semester at the Naval Academy, the school has again run out of food for the midshipmen, at least three times in two weeks.”</p>

<p>There were no reported shortages of food during the period in question in the letter to the editor. Since addressing food issues in the fall term, there are always food carts with additional quantities of food at the stand-by if any table indicates more food items are needed. Our food service staff is continuously monitoring the dining facility and visibly available to ensure each table is taken care of. In addition to having the additional quantities of food available, there has been leftover food following all meals during the period in question. Monitoring the amount of leftover food is always done to help measure usage.</p>

<hr>

<p>“I hear weekly how low the quality of food is. While educational institutions all over this country can serve food of satisfactory in quantity and quality, the academy is not even close.”</p>

<p>Recent feedback suggests that the vast majority of Midshipmen are satisfied with the food served. Our menu items are consistent with those served at other service academies. What sets the Naval Academy apart from most educational institutions is the fact we serve our entire student body family style, simultaneously. While feeding more than 4,000 people at a single sitting presents a complex challenge, it allows the Midshipmen to be together and interact in small-unit leadership environment.</p>

<hr>

<p>“There’s very little protein in the casserole-type dinners served for most evening meals. It’s starch and sauces constantly. There are no choices and the salad bar has been cancelled this entire year.”</p>

<p>We provide nutritious and balanced meals for the Brigade. During the period in question in the letter to the editor, the following meals were served:</p>

<p>6 Jan:</p>

<p>Back to School Special Meal -- Assorted Cheese, Fruits and Nuts, Assorted Party Crackers, Bahama Vegetables, Fried Shrimp, Cocktail Sauce, Grilled Ribeye Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom Sauce, Butter Pat, Cherry Cobbler, Sparkling Grape Juice, Lemonade, Ice tea, Milk (Chocolate /2%/Skim) and Starbuck’s Coffee.</p>

<p>7Jan:</p>

<p>Mandarin Orange Salad, Assorted Salad Dressing, Teriyaki Chicken, Brown Rice, Oriental Vegetables, Vegetable Spring Rolls, Sweet and Sour Sauce, Assorted Cream Pie, Wildberry Beverage, Milk (2% and Skim) and Starbuck’s Coffee.</p>

<p>8 Jan:</p>

<p>California Pasta Salad, Chili Con Carne, Steamed Rice, Shredded Cheese, Chopped Onions, Cornbread, Apple Turnover, Butter Pats, Punch Sport Drink and Milk (2% and Skim).</p>

<hr>

<p>“Many meals consist of pre-packaged processed foods one would get out of a vending machine. They are heated inside plastic packaging, posing a toxic threat from dioxin gas.”</p>

<p>We follow only accepted standards in the food service and hospitality industry. Contrary to what was printed in the letter to the editor, the prepackaged items we serve are cooked in the Mylar bag they come in, which is an industry standard food-safe material. These are popular food items and are cooked and served in the package so they retain their heat for consumption.</p>

<p>“The “protein bar” spoken of after complaints in September ceased to exist in October.”</p>

<p>The “Protein Bar” remains in use and is in fact very popular with Midshipmen. It is available during all meals and consists of: Tuna, Cottage Cheese, Garbanzo Beans, Hard Boiled Eggs, Chilled Pineapple Slices, Individual Yogurts, Individual Apple Sauce and at times Turkey or Roast Beef.</p>

<hr>

<p>“They eat what’s served or they don’t eat. The snack and grill bar is off limits during the week, even for a drink.”</p>

<p>There are two snack bars. The snack bar inside Bancroft Hall is open to upper class Midshipmen from 7:15 to 11 PM, Sunday through Friday. The Drydock Restaurant in Dahlgren Hall is open to ALL midshipmen for carryout service from 7:15 to 11 PM each night.</p>

<hr>

<p>“The ground meat is labeled Grade D, for prisons and the military.”</p>

<p>Ground beef is not graded on such a scale, which you might find with other beef, such as steak. In stead, ground beef is categorized by the lean to fat ratio. The ground beef used at the Academy is typically 81% lean meat to 19% fat.</p>

<hr>

<p>“There’s no accountability. Midshipmen protest isn’t an option due to fear of reprisals.”</p>

<p>We take any suggestions of reprisals very seriously. There have not been any reports of Midshipmen fearing reprisals for providing feedback or making suggestions regarding our food service. In fact, Midshipmen play an active role in the planning and development of future menus based on direct feedback and input on each meal we serve.</p>

<p>“As a taxpaying citizen and a parent, I respectfully ask the leadership to provide meals of an adequate quantity and quality for our Midshipmen, with a daily option salad bar to meet current nutritional standards.”</p>

<p>All meals meet the current nutritional standards. We utilize the expertise of Dr. Laura Nihan, PhD, Staff Dietician.</p>

<hr>

<p>We understand that food is an important topic to all parents. The Academy takes great care in planning and providing meals for the 4300 men and women who comprise the Brigade of Midshipmen. Our food service staff – 235 talented and dedicated professionals - strives to serve a variety of creative, satisfying and nutritious meals to midshipmen who - like most young men and women - expect nothing less. Rest assured that we care as much as you about the quality and quantity of food available to your midshipman. </p>

<p>Thank you,</p>

<p>Captain Margaret D. Klein</p>

<p>United States Navy</p>

<p>Commandant of Midshipmen</p>

2

<p>^^^^^
Fox guarding the hen house?</p>

3

<p>About time the Administration got some backbone and started rebutting this BS.</p>

4

<p>The format of this; observation and reality, will hopefully be more effective than their attemts at using newspapers and reporters to get the message out this past fall; regardless of the events and the "real" situation they lost control of the issue and the story/message. Once that happens it's hard to restablish your credibility in the eyes of the "uniformed". </p>

<p>Son spoke highly of the reform dinner and a few other special meals, beyond that we haven't heard anything negative. I haven't been paying attention to this issue as I assumed it was in the past and that some of the contributing factors (response to changes etc) had waned and they (Brigade and Administration) had turned a corner in their "realtionship".... </p>

<p>just my two cents but given how things appear to be going right now I wouldn't have gone out of my way to take a poke at the bees nest ...</p>

5

<p>zoom, great observations. However, I think the administration was originally insulated and unaware of the true scope of the unrest.</p>

<p>Again, still being insulated, they probably saw the recent letter as more of a problem than it really was.</p>

<p>It is truly hard to believe that a parent would publish something so absurd and devoid of the truth.</p>

<p>We can just chalk up another convert who now knows that everything coming out of Mother B must be taken with a grain of salt.</p>

6

<p>...awwww, is the Naval Academy with their servers and logoed foodstuffs having a few complaints about their meals?</p>

<p>I am sure that the President has never insulted the food at USNA or that they are consistently rated the worst food in the country by the Princeton Review.</p>

<p>Sorry to cross the school borders here, but wow... I find this really funny.</p>

7

<p>Wow, I'm feeling somewhat out of the loop. First, I hadn't read the commandant's letter to the parents. Maybe it will be published in our next parents' club newsletter. Then, after I read this thread I tried to locate the original parent's letter that the commandant was referring to at <a href="http://www.hometownannapolis.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hometownannapolis.com/&lt;/a> only to discover that letters to the editor are not available online. It sounds like the administration has made an effort to improve the quality and quantity of the food served in King Hall. Granted, it will never match home cooking, but the menus sound reasonable.</p>

8

<p>Hahahahha I hadn't read that, but it's hilarious... And a lot of what that letter says is accurate.
Breakfast quesidillas and burritos are prepackaged as is the grilled cheese ( that was disgusting and coated in grease ). Oh and the lasagnas.
We asked for eggs one morning and they didn't have any left and we ran out of mac and cheese today and ice cream and there was nothing to replace it with. But for some reason we always have excess of the gross foods, which is usually. Actually people in my company stopped going down and they told our upperclass they had to go.
I have never had as much carbs as I have had here at the academy, it's ridiculous. Always bagels and breakfast pizza and burrito stuff and sandwiches and potatoes. Yesterday we had pub burgers and the side was fries.
The protein bar never has pineapple on it and the hard boiled eggs usually come already de-shelled so people are reaching in and touching the other eggs. That's just gross. That's gotten better though and they're serving more shelled eggs.
The meat usually looks disgusting, especially the turkey sausage patties and links, etc. But I'm a vegetarian, so I don't get that. But my meal is also really small which is annoying. And the past few weeks on several occasions at the diet kitchen they've told me that spring rolls are vegetarian so i can have that. Or that a huge thing of hummus is okay to put on the bread or that fried rice is a meal.
It's hard to complain about food though, especially as a plebe, there are so many people to go through and it probably won't get heard. And a lot of the workers don't really care.
I dunno, that's just my two cents, but I don't really care all that much as I don't eat a lot down there because it's not good and it's boring sitting with the same people every day three times a day. You can only talk so much.</p>

9

<p>^^^No spin, just a first hand account of the food situation.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I have never had as much carbs as I have had here at the academy, it's ridiculous. Always bagels and breakfast pizza and burrito stuff and sandwiches and potatoes. Yesterday we had pub burgers and the side was fries.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Sounds like food that would be served in a developing country. I know, I know, protein is expensive. Hummus, may be wallpaper paste.</p>

10

<p>Wow, the food/meals the Dant is referring to sounds really good. But as most of you know it is alot of pretty words put in front of nasty food. When I was there for CVW, if you didn't want what was being served as the main meal you could make Peanut Butter and Jellies with frozen bread that oyu had to warm with your mouth/hands. The breakfast burritos were gagging, the cereal of course was good, as was the ice cream, but I can't say the same for the italian sausage and "red" sauce. That we could tell was leftover from lunch. There was also no sign of protein bars, or chocolate milk. The impression I got from my plebe that I was shadowing is that when there was the food shortage there wasn't enough food to go around an entire table.</p>

11

<p>Posted on gomids.</p>

<p>
[quote]
This note received at 1500 on today's [31 Jan 2007] noon meal in King Hall and the Dant's letter:</p>

<p>literally three hours ago I was at team tables, and I personally asked the two foodservice workers if our table could have another dish of mac and cheese because we had just arrived and the first dish was empty. The lady shook her head and said that they were not allowed to give us more because there was only one dish alloted per team table. And I have not seen a filled protein bar yet. Also, the menus they listed in the Dant's letter were, in fact served, but those were unusual meals (the first was the big Dark Ages banquet--not a normal occurance at all). Ask any of the Mids at my table today who ate cereal instead of mac and cheese for lunch, the info in the Dant's letter is not the way it is.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I don't think we are ever going to know the "truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."</p>

<p>Personally, I will continue to make my monthly runs down to USNA with foodstuffs. Until I hear otherwise from the person that matters most to me, I consider it primary, manditory and absolutely necessary.</p>

<p>Make it work.</p>

12

<p>Party line... Not by any means saying that she is not telling the truth, just think there are many versions of the truth. Depends on who, what, and when...</p>

13

<p>True-
and one cannot expect to be all places at all times!</p>

<p>One has to work within the chain of command. </p>

<p>
[quote]
"The point of your positions' existence is to implement my policy, not improve upon *your *ideas."
Commandant Margaret Klein, addressing the upperclass.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That ought to encourage feeback.</p>

14

<p>This appears to be the right way to go about business:</p>

<p>By MCC(SW) Misty Trent /DIV>
Trident Leading Chief Petty Officer /DIV>
Fruit is served in season. USNA photo by MC3 Matthew A. Ebarb. exas Pete hot sauce? Yes. Yellow mustard? Yes. Individual packets of salsa? Yes. Meatball subs and chimichangas? Yes to the meatball subs, but the chimichangas... well, not so much. So read the minutes from the Midshipmen Food Service Division (MFSD) Menu Review Board, in which 45 Midshipmen provided feedback through the chain of command about what works (lemon bars!) and what doesn’t work (cheese station – too much waste). The Menu Review Board at the Naval Academy is almost a mirror image of the process in which Sailors provide feedback about meals and menu items in the Fleet, and it’s just one of several avenues available for Midshipmen to voice their opinions about food service. ''Midshipmen can provide feedback through the King Hall email, which is reviewed daily,'' explained Mid-shipmen Food Service Officer Lt. Cmdr. Debra Rogers. ''My entire senior staff, myself, and Naval Academy Supply Officer Capt. Robert Goodman walk around during the meals so they provide feedback then. Many companies also provide feedback up their chain, through the Battalion Officers. And then we have the monthly menu review board.'' Feeding the 4,400-strong Brigade of Midshipmen resembles the task of feeding a crew of 5,000 aboard an aircraft carrier, with some unique challenges. ''Logistically, King Hall operates in an environment which cannot be duplicated anywhere in the Fleet,'' explained Midn. 1⁄C Charles Breaux, Midshipman Supply Officer. ''A carrier may serve 5,000 meals three times a day, but not in ten-minute windows using one galley for two wardrooms that would cover an area in excess of 60,000 square feet. No other single shore installation comes close to King Hall’s logistical capabilities.'' The planning that goes into a single meal in King Hall is exhaustive. According to Rogers, menus are based on nutritional content of the food, what type of equipment is required to prepare the food, and how feasible it is to serve the food family-style as opposed to the traditional cafeteria-style. Before a food item even hits the menu, it is taste-tested by Midshipmen at the Menu Review Board. MFSD brings in the vendors, and after sampling the fair, Midshipmen fill out a detailed survey about the food. At the most recent Menu Review Board, the Midshipmen tested spicy turkey burgers, pesto sauce, chicken enchiladas, and whole grain pasta. Once a dish is on the menu, one of the largest deciding factors in whether it stays is what Rogers called ''acceptability.'' ''We use the 75% rule,'' she said. ''If we serve an item and it receives a 75% acceptability or higher from the Midshipmen, we keep in the cycle. We have a quantitative program that analyzes this information for us. It is a very comprehensive process.'' In a recent review of acceptability, Rogers concluded that spring rolls were overwhelmingly popular, with 83.33% acceptability, while the chipotle turkey was far less well-received, with only 42.33% acceptability. This data was calculated by comparing the number of servings put out on 25 tables to the amount thrown away at the end of the meal. Of the 300 portions of spring rolls served at those sample tables only 50 were thrown out, but of the 300 portions of chipotle turkey, 173 servings went to waste. This data is vital to MFSD in ensuring Midshipmen get the food they like to eat. According to Breaux, Midshipmen also play a critical role to the success of King Hall, and he encourages them to be proactively involved in the decision-making process. Breaux sees potential benefits for Midshipmen long after they graduate from the Academy. ''As future officers, Midshipmen should learn to be involved in quality-of-life issues that affect them and those under their command,'' Breaux said. ''Learning to provide constructive feedback through appropriate channels is a valuable asset to an officer both in the Fleet and civilian world. King Hall is extremely receptive to feedback, and Midshipmen need to know that the only way things get changed is by individuals who are willing to voice their opinions through the appropriate channels.'' Rogers agrees. ''Whether at sea or in the field, food is a major morale issue and everyone needs to be proactive,'' she said. Midshipmen can contribute to the menu planning process and provide constructive feedback by emailing King Hall directly at <a href="mailto:kinghall@usna.edu">kinghall@usna.edu</a>. The Brigade Supply Officer is another resource available for Midshipmen, or they can pass questions or concerns through their Company First Sergeants. Those issues are then forwarded through Battalion First Sergeants and Regimental First Sergeants, and are addressed by the Brigade Sergeant Major in the weekly ''Feeddown'' report, which is emailed out to the Brigade-at-large every Thursday evening. So, if you ever wondered why King Hall serves the pre-shelled hard-boiled eggs (more convenient to the Midshipmen), or why there aren’t always grapes at the fruit bar (fruit is served seasonally), participating in the feedback and planning process can answer all those questions and more, and provides Midshipmen with the opportunity to play a role in the decision-making process. /P></p>

15

<p>sounds like a sound system-
so what accounts for the report posted quoted above (post #11)?</p>

16

<p>I have a son in a private university with a great cafeteria and the students complain constantly. That is the nature of youth. This enabling by parents and cynicism towards the USNA leadership is troubling. We make it work for our kid by resourcing them some and letting them experience real life.</p>

17

<p>From what I understand, there are some logistical differences between "team" tables and other tables, but I don't know the ins and outs well enough to speak on them.</p>

<p>Another problem, and I know this gets people upset, but there truly seems to be an issue with "portion control." The differences between the way USNA feeds its population compared to any other school are vast. Family-style, vs. cafeteria-style being a large one. At a civilian college or university, a student eats cafeteria-style and can take however much they want of whatever they want. The cafeteria is not responsible for ensuring its students meet body-fat requirements, whereas King Hall is very much responsible for ensuring its student body maintains the Navy's height-weight requirements. Which is a roundabout way of saying that the textbook definition of a "portion" is usually far smaller than most of us think it to be. Go to your pantry right now and pick out a few items and see what the label defines as a "portion." Therein lies a lot of the problem, in my opinion.</p>

<p>And here's another thought that probably won't sit well. In our own homes, when we serve dinner to our own families, there are times when we make a dish our kids don't like. In those situations, what are their options? Just because they didn't necessarily care for what we made for dinner that night doesn't mean we're starving them.</p>

<p>Finally - once these young men & women get out to the Fleet, especially if they're haze grey and underway, their choices are often going to be limited to some form of baked chicken. These future officers are going to be dealing with issues far more important than this.</p>

<p>All that said, it was nice to see a Midshipman in a leadership role getting involved in this fracas.</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
whereas King Hall is very much responsible for ensuring its student body maintains the Navy's height-weight requirements.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I would have assumed that was the responsibility of each and every midshipman. Serving
“healthy” food is one thing. I agree it is incumbent upon those responsible for food service to do so. How much to eat should be left up to the Mids for a number of reasons, beginning with the obvious; they should be treated like adults and held responsible for their actions. Once they receive their commissions and are out in the fleet; portion control will be largely their responsibility; is that not the case? Are we saying that these young men and women, our best and brightest capable of handling some of the most sophisticated weapon systems in the world; a hundred million dollar aircraft or a billion dollar sub can’t be trusted to use a spoon responsibly? Is that the message? </p>

<p>Portion control is at best a guessing game when it comes to the preparation of food and determining the probability of how much of and of what is eaten. I’m sure my son is not the only Mid that is working out on a consistent and rigorous basis; he burns a lot of calories and is constantly eating. Who could possibly do a better job determining the appropriate caloric consumption for his situation; someone trying to apply a food service Fourier transform to the eating habits of 4000 young men and women or the individuals themselves? </p>

<p>I doubt they could implement a cafeteria style system and get 4000 people through it in a reasonable amount of time, certainly not without substantial changes to the layout of the current dining areas. Having said that I have to believe they could figure out a way to make sufficient additional healthy food available to supplement what is served during normal meals. </p>

<p>The one question that is unresolved at least in my mind relates to portion control and the meal budget; specifically the degree to which the budget (or lack thereof) is driving the portion control debate.</p>

19

<p>I have no doubt budget plays a role, just as it does at any command. Each afloat command in the Navy is alloted a certain dollar amount per servicemember. USNA is no different than the Fleet in that regard. And, just as at all other operational commands, the Supply Department must ensure they budget those resources accordingly. So, I would presume when leadership at King Hall is alloting their quarterly budget for meals, the only true way to account for that is per portion, or what the manufacturer of that food item says is the recommended portion per person. That's how it's done in the Fleet as well, because supply personnel have to at least have an idea as to how much they're ordering.</p>

<p>It's not a matter of whether these intelligent young men and women can use a spoon responsibly. It's not about sending a message, in my view, but it's very much like food service challenges in the Fleet. Portion control is not necessarily the "responsibility" of the Sailors in the Fleet, either, for the same reasons. Supply must budget their resources accordingly, and if they plan to feed a meal to 5,000 people, then that's how much they cook. If those who ate early took more than their portion, those who came in later wouldn't get any. So unfortunately, portion control is an overarching concern on multiple levels.</p>

20

<p>one would think mac and cheese is about as budget-friendly as it gets...
can't see how an additional bowl or two can be a budget buster. MIght want to consider dissing the 174 portions of chicken that they don't like and whipping up a few more bowls of mac and cheese! At least they are eating it!</p>