JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
When the renovated Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph dining facility reopens Tuesday, a new labeling system through the Go For Green program will promote healthier food options to customers who dine at the facility.
The color-coded labeling system will give detailed information on the nutritional value of foods being served at the JBSA-Randolph Wingman Café Dining Facility, building 860 – formerly the Rendezvous Dining Facility – so active-duty members and Department of Defense cardholders who eat at the facility will make better, healthier food choices, said Aracelis Gonzalez-Anderson, 359th Aerospace Medical Squadron health promotions program coordinator at the JBSA-Randolph Human Performance Resource Center.
“Go for Green is a Department of Defense program that promotes healthy food and beverage choices in order to optimize performance, readiness and health of our service members, retired service members and civilians who eat at the DFAC,” she said. “Bottom line, it’s helping them with food options so they stay fit and healthy. It motivates and empowers service members to choose nutrition for high quality performance.”
The labeling system consists of a color laminated card – green, yellow or red – that includes the name of the food or beverage, the sodium level and nutritional quality, Gonzalez-Anderson said. The nutritional quality of the food or beverage is based on the color code of the card: green indicates a high-performance food which helps fuel the mind and body and should be eaten often; yellow, a moderate-performance food, which is less effective for the mind and body but can provide needed fuel when green options are limited; and red, a low-performance food for the mind and body which should be rarely consumed.
In addition, the sodium levels in the food or beverage are labeled low, moderate or high. A low-sodium food and beverage is one people should eat often; moderate, a food or beverage that should be eaten or consumed sometimes; and high, a food or beverage that should be eaten or consumed rarely or in small amounts.
At the DFAC salad bar, a listing of the foods and ingredients that should be eaten often, those that should be eaten in moderation and those that should be eaten rarely are color-coded in green, yellow or red. Also, nutritious salads and ingredients will have green tongs for diners to use, ingredients that should be eaten in moderation have yellow tongs and ingredients that should only be consumed a little have red tongs.
“We are highlighting high-quality nutritious foods, not low-calorie options,” Gonzalez-Anderson said. “The card system helps makes those options visible, available and appealing.”
Robert Murray, 802nd Force Support Squadron Wingman Café manager, said the new Go for Green labeling system at the DFAC will include menu items for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, salads, fruits and beverages.
“It gives them a better understanding of what exactly they are choosing,” Murray said. “It will give them much more of an education about the foods they consume every day and the benefits of those items.”
Gonzalez-Anderson said active-duty service members and DOD civilians will also be able to choose healthier and nutritious food options at other military DFAC locations because they are using the same Go for Green labeling system as the JBSA-Randolph Wingman Café DFAC.
“We are changing an environment to a healthier future,” she said.
The Wingman Café will open to the entire JBSA-Randolph community, including active-duty, military family members, retirees, civilians and contractors, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony 10 a.m. Tuesday.
The dining facility will be open seven days a week from 6-9 a.m. for breakfast, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for lunch and 4:30-6:30 p.m. for dinner.