During the time when Americans are gathering for Thanksgiving feasts, soldiers at Fort Carson, Colorado, are dealing with a rather different and less pleasant reality. Months of having insufficient meals, confusing schedules, and limited food options at the base's dining facilities have led to widespread frustration among the troops.

"Fort Carson Soldiers Struggle with Food Quality and Availability"

Food Options and Nutritional Standards

The dining facilities at Fort Carson, which are crucial for maintaining the health and readiness of the troops, are reportedly offering fewer choices. Some meals even fail to meet basic nutritional standards. For instance, earlier this month, a soldier stationed there shared an image of a meal consisting of just a single piece of toast and a handful of lima beans for dinner. Getting access to these limited rations is also a challenge due to the confusing dining hall schedules and random closures, making it difficult for many soldiers to obtain hot meals.

According to Military.com's interviews with eight soldiers and the review of photos from Fort Carson facilities, food often runs out quickly, and the portions are often insufficient to meet the macronutrient requirements needed to sustain the soldiers' demanding physical regimens. Some soldiers have reported and shared photos of food that was either undercooked or stored at dangerous temperatures.

Kiosks and Their Shortcomings

Kiosks, which were intended to provide grab-and-go options in some cases, are frequently empty, especially during peak times when soldiers finish their shifts. Even when the kiosk shelves are stocked, they are often filled with chips, sugary snacks, and other items that do not meet the nutritional standards required to maintain physical fitness.

This has led to frustration among the soldiers, and some unit leaders have instructed them to document the issue by capturing photos of the low-quality food or barren shelves to bring their concerns to higher-level leadership. However, it is unclear what official complaints have been filed.

Base Spokesperson's Statement

Lt. Col. Joseph Payton, a base spokesperson, said in a statement to Military.com, "We recognize that we've had some challenges with consistency in the quality of our soldiers' dining experiences at our warrior restaurants and kiosks. We're committed to ensuring our soldiers receive quality and healthy meals and can take full advantage of their meal benefit they are entitled to receive."

Payton added that the issue has been brought to brigade-level leadership, which is currently investigating methods to improve the quality of food options for the soldiers.

Meal Card Holders and Other Food Options

Fort Carson has 4,600 meal card holders, mostly junior enlisted soldiers who rely on the dining facilities for meals. In most barracks, there are no cooking appliances, and soldiers are generally not allowed to have kitchen tools like hot plates. Other food options, which soldiers have to pay for, are mostly less healthy fast food restaurants such as Pizza Hut, Dunkin' Donuts, and Arby's.

In 2024, the base served an average of 591 soldiers with food each day. This number also includes meals purchased and consumed by non-meal card holding troops. This indicates that the raw percentage of junior soldiers living on base who use the dining facilities may be very low on some days.

Financial Strain and Logistics Challenges

Soldiers contribute an average of $460 per month from their Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS), which totals approximately $22 million annually at Fort Carson. However, the base's food budget this year is only $5 million. How the remaining funds are allocated is unclear.

A 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office found that the Army does not adequately track how often its food services are used by service members. Some Army officials have pointed to soldiers using dining facilities less and less in recent years as a reason to cut spending, which has led to a self-fulfilling prophecy where less investment in quality food and infrastructure pushes even fewer soldiers to use those food options.

Long Queues and Customer Experiences

Soldiers have reported waiting in line for up to 30 minutes at Fort Carson dining facilities, only to be served small portions that are far from a full meal. In one instance, a soldier was given just a small bowl of soup and an apple.

On Hots & Cots, a Yelp-style platform where soldiers review barracks and dining options, complaints about food quality and availability at Fort Carson are significantly higher than at other installations, according to the app's internal data. Similar struggles have been reported at Fort Cavazos, Texas, last year, where junior enlisted soldiers had few food options as the garrison struggled with a shortage of food service workers. Soldiers also frequently report issues with undercooked food or inconsistent dining facility schedules on Reddit and other social media.

Senior Officials' Perspective

Senior officials have often pointed to the difficulties in logistics when it comes to mapping out how much food to supply soldiers and ensuring they get quality nutrition. However, it remains unclear why these challenges have persisted in the force for years.

"Are we gonna fumble? Yes, but we're learning," said Renee Mosher, deputy chief of staff, G4 HQ Army Materiel Command, which oversees logistics for the force, when asked about food issues at Fort Carson in October at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference in Washington, D.C.