How is the food at USAFA? Is it different for athletes?

Had one kid at USAFA, one at West Point and one at a big state U. All three thought the food was average. Though, we only had to foot the bill for one. 😉My wife and I went to Big State U and the food was average at best.
 
A question on this topic: are there vegetarian options? I am a vegetarian. I asked a question about this in a webinar, and they did say the options were getting better for those with different diets.
 
www.usafa.edu

Mitchell Hall

Mitchell Hall is the cadet dining hall and is notorious for serving the entire Cadet Wing (more than 4,000 people) in less than 30 minutes.
www.usafa.edu www.usafa.edu

Skim through this. You’ll see they try to offer a varied menu to suit nutritional needs and diet preferences, plus have dieticians available.
 
Capt MJ said:
www.usafa.edu

Mitchell Hall

Mitchell Hall is the cadet dining hall and is notorious for serving the entire Cadet Wing (more than 4,000 people) in less than 30 minutes.
www.usafa.edu www.usafa.edu

Skim through this. You’ll see they try to offer a varied menu to suit nutritional needs and diet preferences, plus have dieticians available.
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Thank you ma'am, that answered my question exactly!
 
Back in the Day...
Big Bro tells this story of his time at USAFA.

Mom made fried boloney. We all loved it.

They used to have comment slips you could fill out in Mitch's to make suggestions.

Big bro made all the doolies fill out comment slips and request fried boloney. Sure enough, fried boloney appeared on the menu.

It was quickly removed in spite of it being delicious.

Don't know if cadets have impact on meal choices anymore.
 
JohnMcLane said:
Back in the Day...
Big Bro tells this story of his time at USAFA.

Mom made fried boloney. We all loved it.

They used to have comment slips you could fill out in Mitch's to make suggestions.

Big bro made all the doolies fill out comment slips and request fried boloney. Sure enough, fried boloney appeared on the menu.

It was quickly removed in spite of it being delicious.

Don't know if cadets have impact on meal choices anymore.
Click to expand...
I think we can still do that.
 
Peter2025 said:
There is no menu. Breakfast during the week is served family style. Normally eggs with waffles/breakfast sandwich/potatoes/pancakes/etc (i.e. they serve one of those options). Lunch during the week is mandatory, also served family style. It varies greatly, some meals are okay, others not so much (see below). Dinner, as well as breakfast and lunch on the weekend, is buffet style. There are a few choices, but not many. Cadets, myself included, like to complain about it, but at the end of the day, free food is free food (as free as free can be).

View attachment 13409View attachment 13410
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Based on what I heard from my cadet, the quality isn't all that great. The photo clearly showed that. That said, I looked at the Menu for this month, and it doesn't look so bad, so what is going on? What on the menu isn't what they are serving? Lastly, it is not free. USAFA deducts money from your paycheck. Hang in there cadet!
 
Gaffer said:
A question on this topic: are there vegetarian options? I am a vegetarian. I asked a question about this in a webinar, and they did say the options were getting better for those with different diets.
Click to expand...
Lifelong vegetarian and 2012 grad here. The vegetarian options weren't stellar when I arrived for basic, but the staff was awesome, working with me to improve both the quality and nutritional value of the vegetarian option at each meal AND the access to those meals for those that needed them.

We made a lot of progress over my 4 years making the vegetarian option one that was both healthy and calorie dense enough to support my workouts as an IC. Hopefully it hasn't slipped in the decade since (WHAT! how am I that old!) but even if it has, they are very receptive to feedback. I would have a chat with the team (initially individual) responsible for the vegetarian option nearly every day.
 
I heard that Mitch's is understaffed. Can't fill all positions so are doing the best they can.
 
JohnMcLane said:
Back in the Day...
Big Bro tells this story of his time at USAFA.

Mom made fried boloney. We all loved it.

They used to have comment slips you could fill out in Mitch's to make suggestions.

Big bro made all the doolies fill out comment slips and request fried boloney. Sure enough, fried boloney appeared on the menu.

It was quickly removed in spite of it being delicious.

Don't know if cadets have impact on meal choices anymore.
Click to expand...
Sounds like the ORIGINAL Form 0-96...

Yep, back in the day...

I suppose we should have quit requesting BBQ Dino Ribs...if we had, then the saying "back when Dino's roamed the TZo would still apply..."
 
USAFA10s said:
Lifelong vegetarian and 2012 grad here. The vegetarian options weren't stellar when I arrived for basic, but the staff was awesome, working with me to improve both the quality and nutritional value of the vegetarian option at each meal AND the access to those meals for those that needed them.

We made a lot of progress over my 4 years making the vegetarian option one that was both healthy and calorie dense enough to support my workouts as an IC. Hopefully it hasn't slipped in the decade since (WHAT! how am I that old!) but even if it has, they are very receptive to feedback. I would have a chat with the team (initially individual) responsible for the vegetarian option nearly every day.
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Hi there, thank you so much for the post, it's great to get that perspective! I am glad that there are options, and they will work with us to make sure we get enough calories and variety. At summer camps and other things that I have attended, I have ended up eating a mostly potato diet :)
 
buffalo said:
Is the Form O-96 not a thing any more? Far more reliable and likely to get action than ICE surveys will be after you graduate.
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It's still a thing. Last semester they stopped doing paper copies, and only use the QR code version by the doors. The doolies are no longer tasked with Fast Neat Average Friendly Good Good.
 
Gaffer said:
A question on this topic: are there vegetarian options? I am a vegetarian. I asked a question about this in a webinar, and they did say the options were getting better for those with different diets.
Click to expand...
DD is vegan and an IC. She has a frig. in her room. She's been pretty happy with the food. The fruit especially. I send care packages with food and goodies. Only real issue was during BCT. Cadre were all over her for her veganism. Lost some weight but they did not break her.
 
RunningMom said:
DD is vegan and an IC. She has a frig. in her room. She's been pretty happy with the food. The fruit especially. I send care packages with food and goodies. Only real issue was during BCT. Cadre were all over her for her veganism. Lost some weight but they did not break her.
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Thank you for your post! Very good to know, and props to your DD. I have a lot of respect for vegans, I feel like it would take even more dedication to manage, especially as an IC!
 
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