House Armed Services subcommittee presses services on food quality, low dining-hall use

The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel heard testimony from senior service food‑program officials who acknowledged uneven dining-hall quality and low on‑base meal use, and described pilots and reforms intended to increase access and appeal.

Chairman Fallon opened the hearing by saying, “Access to nutritious, high quality meals should be a given, not a challenge,” and urged the services to fix shortfalls quickly. The panel cited a January 2023 RAND study and a Government Accountability Office report — both raised repeatedly during the session — that flagged food‑insecurity and shortcomings in oversight of military food programs.

Lieutenant General Christopher Mohan, deputy commanding general for Army Materiel Command, told the subcommittee the Army has “bright ink spots” of improvement but needs to “innovate and drive revolutionary change.” Mohan described an Army pilot Congress directed in the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act to test a campus‑style commercial contracting model. “The request for proposal is on the street right now,” Mohan said; he told members the pilot would include five locations in five states, that offers are expected in the coming months, and that the Army will evaluate proposals this fall.

Mohan also provided budget figures for the Army’s pay and food accounts as he described them: he said the Army pays roughly $1.9 billion in Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) to enlisted soldiers annually, collects about $400 million back from meal‑card…