It’s Not Just US Army Soldiers Going Hungry, Food Insecurity Hitting Other Branches of the Military: Expert

If an army marches on its stomach, many within the U.S. military face a grueling trudge, as inadequate food access is a widespread and “somewhat persistent” problem hardly limited to the issues exposed earlier this week at Texas’ Fort Cavazos, an expert told The Messenger.

Over 25% of personnel across all branches of the military were food insecure in 2018, with some service members struggling to stay within their monthly budgets or finding themselves captive to their schedules, according to a report released earlier this year by the RAND Corporation think tank.

“[W]e actually looked at some of the predictors of food insecurity among service members and, actually, service members who live on-post are more likely to experience problems accessing food, more food insecurity,” said Dr. Thomas Trail, a behavioral scientist who co-authored the report.

“Which makes the situation at Fort Cavazos kind of concerning, because you think, ‘Well, you know, they have dining facilities there, they get a meal card, they should be able to eat.’”

Soldiers at the sprawling, 214,968-acre U.S. Army base, which sits about 70 miles north of Austin, have battled insufficient food access for much of the summer, Military.com reported earlier this week.

Just two of the base’s 10 major dining stations have been open every day this summer, with another three open only during limited hours, according to the report. Confusing or conflicting information on hours of operation has compounded the problem.

While some soldiers can head off-post to grab grub, not all have vehicles. And those who do face a lengthy drive — up to an hour round trip — plus the prospect of paying for food out of pocket, rather than with military-issued meal cards usable on-post. Without factoring in bonuses and allowances, annual base pay for active duty soldiers starts at just over $23,000.

After the Tuesday publication of the Military.com report, the Army said in a news release that two other on-post restaurants had reopened on Monday.

The reported root of the problem at Fort Cavazos is a lack of staffing for the on-post facilities, with a majority of cooks either deployed or undergoing training elsewhere.

Trail called the Fort Cavazos situation “really perplexing” and said that research for the report he co-authored did not find a similar case of kitchen understaffing elsewhere.

But while the cause seems unique, the effect is not, Trail said.

What's the larger context for the Fort Cavazos food shortage?

“What we’ve found and what the [Department of Defense’s] own surveys have found is that the rate of food insecurity is high among service members and their families, higher than it is among equivalent civilians even,” Trail told The Messenger. “It’s a fairly large and somewhat persistent issue.”

The research report, which was sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, did find some trends. Two-thirds of those service members found to be food insecure were “in the early to middle stages of their career,” according to the report. They were also more likely to be of racial or ethnic minorities, and disproportionately in the Army rather than other branches.

Do we know why so many service members are food insecure?

“It’s really tricky,” said Trail. “Because there’s a lot of associations, but it’s really hard to tell what is driving this problem.”

Data-based research is continuing into possible root causes, but some people interviewed for the report cited a housing allowance for soldiers who live off-post that may be lagging behind costs of living, as well as the overall pay rate.

“[I]t’s not just pay that is driving this effect, we don’t think,” said Trail. “But it’s got to be part of it.”

How can service members get a food allowance and still go hungry living on a military base?

While soldiers who live off-post receive an extra allowance in their paychecks meant to buy food, single enlisted members who live on-post get meal cards to use at on-post food facilities.

“[I]f you’re living on-post, [and] you have a meal card, but you can’t use that meal card to purchase food because the dining facilities aren’t open or they’re not easily accessible, then you’re essentially not getting the pay you’re owed to pay for your food,” said Trail.

This issue comes up even on bases with ample kitchen staffing, with some soldiers’ work schedules incompatible with the hours of operation for on-post dining options.

“Some people are on shift work and they need to eat when the dining facilities aren’t open, so they’re spending money on food [off-post] that technically they’re not being reimbursed for from the military,” said Trail.

One person interviewed for the research report relayed that exact concern.

“We do a lot of shift work, which means that you won’t be eating in the [dining facility],” that interviewee said. “You get your BAS [Basic Allowance for Subsistence], and if you’re buying microwave dinners or eating takeout all the time, it adds up quick.”

What's the military doing to solve this problem?

New York’s Fort Drum is currently running a pilot program allowing soldiers to use their meal cards at non-military eateries, like Panera and Qdoba, according to Military.com.

The idea has “potential,” Trail said, while noting that it would require meal allowances to be in line with the prices of eating at non-military options, to ensure that hungry soldiers get the same bang for their buck.

“[I]s it going to be enough to provide you with the equivalent amount of food if you were using it on-post?” he asked.