How the Navy Feeds 300,000 Hungry Sailors Each Day

The United States Navy has 11 aircraft carriers,

and collectively,

they serve about 93,000 meals every single day...

Today, not only we're going to show you how this impossible task is done,

but also how much all this food costs, who eats the best meal in the Navy,

and how the logistics are managed.

But why having steak and lobster with a side of ice cream could

mean bad news for the sailors.

and what they complain about the most when it comes to their food

is not what you think!

A good ship starts with good food, or "chow", as they call it.

Inside the kitchen, known as galley,

the daily operations are performed by sailors known as culinary specialists.

These sailors have undergone multiple weeks of culinary training and

are directly responsible for the quality and safety of all the

food that's prepared on board.

But culinary specialists are not the ones who decide what's on the menu today,

for two good reason.

The United States Navy has over 300,000 sailors who are stationed among hundreds

of different ships all over the world...

And if you've ever hosted a big party,

you would appreciate the complexities involved in feeding hundreds

of thousands of people

every day.

So to simplify this logistical nightmare, the Navy uses a 21 day cycle menu.

Basically, no matter where sailors are, on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific,

or on a destroyer in the Atlantic,

if chicken wings is on the menu for tonight,

it's gonna be a global chicken wing fest at sea.

This global menu is in fact,

the primary driver behind the Navy buying and delivering food worldwide.

But the 21 day cycle menu accomplishes one more thing.

The Department of Defense wants to ensure that sailors receive sufficient amounts

of nutrients every day to optimize their cognitive and physical performance.

So they publish nutritional guidelines that are in turn used to create this menu.

With that said,

the culinary specialists aboard the ship are allowed to inject

some creativity into the meals,

as long as they don't make drastic changes.