Meals at USMA

mom3boys

10-Year Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Messages
2,174
After reading the USNA thread on hungry mids, I wonder if the WP cadets are getting enough to eat. Not that food will factor into son's choice of academies, but I cannot imagine not having enough food up there where it's so cold....they need the calories to help stay warm!
 
According to both my cadets, food at USMA is plentiful and good. Their only complaint is that after several times through the menu rotation things get a little repetitive -- but they complained about that while living at home, too! :rolleyes:
 
My CC has been on the post four weekends so far this year and he doesn't complain about the food.
 
My son is a plebe at USMA. Overall he likes the food. His only complaint is that he is tired of chicken. He still eats it and says it is good, but they serve it a lot. (mental note...don't serve chicken while he is home on leave. :wink: ) When he doesn't feel like eating dinner in the mess hall he can get something to eat in Grant Hall (sandwiches, burgers, asian food, pizza) or from Subway or Burger King which are both on post. Most of the places in Highland Falls will deliver to West Point also, including the McDonalds right outside Thayer gate. He gets plenty to eat and has never gone hungry. He is allowed to take fruit and left over gatorade, or other drinks, back to his room. He only takes what he can eat soon since they don't have a frig. He also has a boodle box in his room stocked with snacks.
 
During the one or two times it has come up in conversations since Beast, our West Point plebe has said he likes the mess hall food and thinks it is plentiful.
 
mom3boys,

My daughter is also a plebe. She's never complained about not liking the food. When she was home for Thanksgiving she had put on some weight and was saying that when she comes home for Christmas she'll have to start running again. Mentioned that it was probably from all the boodle.

The one thing that was discussed at lunch in the mess hall over PPW was that the jar of peanut butter was never idle. Peanut butter has been put on anything and everything, and there is a jar on the table for every meal.
 
Sounds like USNA is a lot more picky when it comes to food. From what I hear, Plebes can't take any food back to their rooms, the only meals underclassmen are allowed to eat are with the entire Brigade, and on top of that, the food isn't THAT good.

But I suppose the whole situation switches when army officers goes active duty in the desert and naval officers get to have lavish buffets on Carriers.
 
USNA food

my understanding about meals at USNA is the new order from the Supe to all mids stating all meals will be eaten at King Hall threw the old meal budget into the can..........talking to a 3/c over Christmas....quality/quantities have slowly started to improve........not the best sit/rep for morale and recruitment.
 
I ate at USNA last year, when I still knew people who went there. I thought the food was fine, good even. Food at CGA wasn't bad, and they tended to cycle through the menu so in no time you had an idea of what was going to be served.....alpine sandwiches....yum, or make your own deli sandwich Wednesdays. Chicken tenders day...dump and send (out for more).


Your cadets/midshipmen won't starve.
 
After reading the USNA thread on hungry mids, I wonder if the WP cadets are getting enough to eat. Not that food will factor into son's choice of academies, but I cannot imagine not having enough food up there where it's so cold....they need the calories to help stay warm!

I have been reading a lot of posts lately about the food. My DS is a plebe now. Frankly, I am not very PC so I am just going to lay it out. Most of the criticism is coming from the moms. I asked my son about it yesterday. He said it is the best food he has ever had. Steak, chicken, vegetables, eggs, french toast, salad bars, bacon, sausage, oranges, bananas etc. etc. He said there is so much food you can not even eat it all. In addition, they have special "areas" where you can get protein drinks, snack bars, fruit and more and all you need to do is walk up and grab them. He is 6"1' and 210 pounds. Said he lost 5 pounds since he has been there and increased his strength by about 10%. He loves the food and the Academy. Said it is everything he ever dreamed it would be. He said the people that dog the food are just big complainers.
 
Said it is everything he ever dreamed it would be. He said the people that dog the food are just big complainers.

Amen to that. No, King Hall will never make anyone’s list of top 20 college dining halls. But the food is plentiful and there are plenty of healthy options for those willing to figure it out.

The mids are training to be naval and Marine officers. I’m sure there are sailors and Marines currently deployed who’d love to have King Hall food — hot, ample, filling — right about now.
 
Military folks routinely complain about food, uniforms, other traditional stuff.

Usually it’s a matter of not having enough of what they like to eat, which is different than actually having enough to eat.

That said, every once in a while, planning goes awry at SA Food Services, and the right amount of food is not prepared when the meal planning figure is exceeded. Bad weather can cancel cadet trips, the leadership can lock down liberty, any number of things can jump up the number of cadets/mids sitting down in a dining hall.
 
Military folks routinely complain about food, uniforms, other traditional stuff.

Usually it’s a matter of not having enough of what they like to eat, which is different than actually having enough to eat.

That said, every once in a while, planning goes awry at SA Food Services, and the right amount of food is not prepared when the meal planning figure is exceeded. Bad weather can cancel cadet trips, the leadership can lock down liberty, any number of things can jump up the number of cadets/mids sitting down in a dining hall.
The other issue is reputation. A few months into a deployment you can tell what day it is by the meal being served.
As a side note, rock lobster is NOT real lobster.
 
In my experience, Soldiers and Cadets will complain about most anything. Normally its when they stop complaining that you have a problem. Key is to learn that not all complaints require action.
 
Military folks routinely complain about food, uniforms, other traditional stuff.

Usually it’s a matter of not having enough of what they like to eat, which is different than actually having enough to eat.

That said, every once in a while, planning goes awry at SA Food Services, and the right amount of food is not prepared when the meal planning figure is exceeded. Bad weather can cancel cadet trips, the leadership can lock down liberty, any number of things can jump up the number of cadets/mids sitting down in a dining hall.
One thing that changed over the years is that USNA and the other SAs used to get MORE food money (ration allowance) per midshipman than the normal allotment and allegedly,
it was because of the increased activity (calories expended) required increased amounts of food. Sometime over the years between when I learned this (1970's) and SonOfOldRetSWO attended (class of '11), that extra money went away and by then, the ration allowance was supposedly LESS than the regular meal allowance for US services. The renovations to King Hall in 2007-2010 which added difficulties in the prep stages and large groups of mids eating in Dahlgren Hall seemed to end up with times when some mids ended up with no serving or a tiny bit of main course. During my USNA time, I could truly say that the food was much better than the fleet but that changed over the years and not for the better.
 
I have two sons in two different civilans colleges and they both complained about the food served. I think that is pretty universal throughout colleges. The diffrence of course is that my kids can go next door and eat at McDonalds if they want
 
Military folks routinely complain about food, uniforms, other traditional stuff.

In my experience, Soldiers and Cadets will complain about most anything. Normally its when they stop complaining that you have a problem. Key is to learn that not all complaints require action.

Couldn't agree more.

Old timer alert! Back in the day, there were only 12 C-ration meal choices. Imagine living in the field for weeks with that limited variety - talk about repetition.
 
Back
Top