JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH ,Texas –
Another round of budget reductions throughout the Air Force for fiscal 2014 is again affecting the service' s dining facilities.
At Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph's Rendezvous Dining Facility, one of several cost-cutting measures that began Oct. 1, the first day of the fiscal year, was trimming the lunch period on weekdays by 30 minutes. Lunch is now served from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
"We looked and saw some opportunities to make cuts without affecting our main customers - the Airmen who live in the dorms," Robert Murray, 902nd Force Support Squadron food service officer, said.
Two other cost-cutting measures also took effect Oct. 1, Murray said.
"We eliminated sitting for breakfast during weekdays," he said. "Diners will have the same food options, but they won't be able to sit. They'll have to take their meals out."
Another change is that DFAC workers no longer pick up trays from tables, he said. Instead, diners take their trays to a designated area.
For weekend and holiday meals, breakfast has been eliminated and replaced by a brunch from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The supper hour, 5:30-6:30 p.m., remains the same.
A drop in the number of Airmen who use the DFAC after 12:30 p.m. influenced the decision to stop serving lunch at that time rather than 1 p.m., Murray said. In addition, use of the dining facility on weekends also drops, which led to the decision to serve two meals each day on weekends and holidays. The DFAC will continue to be closed for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
The changes will save money by reducing man-hours at the DFAC, Murray said. Training, Rehabilitation and Development Institute Inc. of San Antonio is the contractor for the dining facility.
Last year, budget cuts led to a decision to limit use at the JBSA-Randolph DFAC to pay grades E-5 and below as well as authorized members on temporary duty. JBSA's food contracts were reduced by $4.4 million in fiscal 2013.
Murray, who said the DFAC also introduced a new menu with the beginning of the new fiscal year, said the choices made were "hard, but necessary.
"This is Air Force-wide," he said. "Everybody's feeling the strain, but our mission is still the same. We will continue to provide the same excellent service we always have, despite the decrease in funding."