Cpl. Jordan Kuzniak, an air support operator with Marine Air Support Squadron 2, orders lunch through the Mobile Feeding Pilot Program at the Camp Foster, Okinawa, Nov. 29, 2023. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Cpl. Jordan Kuzniak was among those lining for lunch on a recent afternoon at the Chef Shack food truck outside the Foster Community Center.
The schedule for two food trucks in a pilot program to feed Marines outside their chow halls on Okinawa is confusing, said the air support operator with Marine Air Support Squadron 2. But she had visited the trucks at least five times over the past two months.
“I absolutely love it,” she said while ordering a spicy chicken bowl. “When it’s available, I take full advantage of it.”
The Mobile Feeding Pilot Program began Oct. 4 at Foster and has since spread to nearby Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Gunnery Sgt. Raul Millan, subsistence chief for Marine Corps Installations Pacific, said at the community center on Nov. 29.
The program provides lunch at no additional cost to enlisted Marines at two Marine Corps Community Services food trucks.
The initiative will soon be available across Okinawa and could eventually be adopted wherever Marines are stationed in the Indo-Pacific, Millan said.
“The more we can enhance the quality of life for Marines, the more likely we can retain them,” he said.
Marines queue to receive lunch at the government's expense through the Mobile Feeding Pilot Program at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Nov. 29, 2023. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
The program was developed this year by MCIPAC’s food service office in response to then-Commandant Gen. David Berger’s Talent Management 2030 retention initiative, Millan said. The initiative seeks to retain Marines by offering improved facilities along with additional services and options.
“We cannot lose a 12-year intelligence professional or artillery Marine because we could not provide access to pediatric care or a high quality chow hall,” Berger wrote in a March policy update.
The Chef Shack food truck offers meals through the Mobile Feeding Pilot Program at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Nov. 29, 2023. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
Under the pilot, enlisted Marines entitled to meals at the government’s expense can use their Common Access Card to purchase food at the La Cocina and Chef Shack food trucks. La Cocina offers Mexican street staples like tacos and burritos; Chef Shack has an assortment of beef, chicken and plant-based protein bowls.
The entitlement is authorized for any lunch period, Monday through Friday, when the trucks are parked at Foster or MCAS Futenma, Warrant Officer Daniel Jensen, an installations command food service officer, said by email Dec. 7. The trucks’ schedule varies and is updated on the Marine Corps Community Services’ website.
To date, the trucks have averaged about 30 customers per week, Millan said.
“The numbers aren’t there yet, just because it’s still pretty early, but maybe it’ll pick up in the next couple months,” he said.
Lance Cpl. Bernardino Simbolon, an administrator at the Installation Personnel Administration Center, waits for lunch outside the Chef Shack food truck at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Nov. 29, 2023. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
Lance Cpl. Ray Joseph, a computer technician with the installations command, said he had only just learned of the program as he walked by Foster’s community center on Nov. 29.
“Having choices outside the chow hall is nice,” he said while ordering a steak burrito at La Cocina. “It’s appreciated.”
Lance Cpl. Bernardino Simbolon, an administrator at the Installation Personnel Administration Center, said the chicken protein bowls are well-balanced and fuel his rigorous gym sessions.
“I recommend it to every single Marine,” he said.
The Corps plans to expand the pilot program south to Camp Kinser by January and then to the northern camps, starting with Courtney, Jensen said. The service eventually hopes the program will be available elsewhere in Japan, as well as South Korea, Guam and Hawaii.
