JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --
The Armed Forces Food and Beverage Training Seminar, held here Aug. 21-26, showed how nutrition and sustenance are keys to building ready and resilient Airmen and their families.
The seminar, sponsored by the Air Force Services Activity, touched on food and beverage industry trends within the sister branches; industry trends and product offerings from the National Restaurant Association and other commercial partners.
“This was really a chance to check in to find out what’s going on in the food and beverage industry and make sure we’re remaining current and relevant to Airmen with the programs we offer,” said Col. Mike Lamb, director of operations for AFSVA.
“This is another example of committing ourselves to developing the Air Force in important ways and bringing back some of the programs we couldn’t afford to do during sequestration.”
Approximately 300 people representing the military and private sector attended the seminar, said Jim Krueger, AFSVA food and beverage chief for business development and strategic initiatives. He lauded the seminar for its offerings and peer interaction.
“You can’t taste food, you can’t see a new piece of innovative equipment work unless you’re there,” Krueger said. “We were able to do all that.”
One of the presenters at the conference was Dr. Catherine Adams Hutt, a dietitian who has worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and in the private sector.
“She gave a wonderful discussion on healthy eating and how we can get our menus organized around healthy eating,” Lamb said.
The keynote speaker also impressed Lamb. Charles E. Milam, the acting principal assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs, helped the U.S. Air Force procure more than $4 million to institute healthy eating initiatives. He spoke about how substandard nutrition and unhealthy eating has become a national security issue and offered ways to combat the disturbing trend.
“The funds Mr. Milam procured will allow us to implement the new generation of ‘Go for Green’ standards and will also help us to employ techniques to ‘nudge’ Airmen toward healthier food options,” Lamb said.