Random Question - Washington Post Cartoon from King Hall Food Shortages circa 2006-2007.

[Brian8715]

Hi all,

I remember the scarce meals pretty well and thought the cartoon was hilarious. I was reminded of it recently and wanted to find and save it.

The cartoon was of a Midshipman standing in front of Gate 1 (or Gate 3; don't recall), looking forlorn, and holding a sign saying "Will Serve My Country for Food". Does anyone have it saved or can they send a link to it?

Greatly obliged,
Brian

 

[Old Navy BGO]

I never heard of it...was it a budget issue ?

 

[AF6872]

If I remember correctly the prior contractor had lost the food contract and the new one had not ramped up. They served every thing they had in old inventory? DD said meals were horrible in 2007.

 

[usna1985]

If memory serves, the problem was exacerbated because the incoming Supe/Dant decided meals during the week were mandatory for upperclass. Since apparently quite a few had previously chosen to eat elsewhere (Dahlgren, Steerage) or not to eat, it created an unanticipated and immediate demand for more food at each meal. It took a while for procurement to catch up with demand, which created temporary shortages as the meal preparers had to create more with less.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

MMMM...I bet they could have found and served stockpiles of Neebs Loaf from the early 80's ....that stuff had to have a shelf life of two decades.

 

[AF6872]

Or C-Rations.

 

[NTWLF ONE]

MMMM...I bet they could have found and served stockpiles of Neebs Loaf from the early 80's ....that stuff had to have a shelf life of two decades.

Morissette Cream Pie...

 

[DesertCaliMom]

DS said they had ribs and crab cakes on Friday for lunch... times have changed!

 

[NavyHoops]

You should of seen what first set summer school was like 20+ years ago. We ate all the surplus freezer items. I think we had flap sticks and corn dogs every lunch and breakfast. After we finished all those we then would get 'experimented on' with the new proposed menu items for the academic year. We would fill out surveys for the petty officers assigned. We actually tried to give good feedback as we some how set the future menu for 4000 shipmates. Food improved dramatically between 2/C and 1/C year. I have eaten in King Hall a few times in recent years... so much better, but still some of the nostalgic staples we had a few decades ago.

 

[time2]

If memory serves, the problem was exacerbated because the incoming Supe/Dant decided meals during the week were mandatory for upperclass

Same here. They were also redoing the kitchen and were working out of temporary facilities so it was a combination of several issues, but was a real problem regardless of what some were saying at that time.