The Congress moved in the FY 2026 Defense bill with a number of reforms to food programs that had been advocated for by the ALA. These included making it easier for service members to access food on base with their common access cards, improving the administration, transparency and Congressional oversight of military food program budgets to ensure the basic allowance for subsistence is being used to provide food to service members, and creating a single focal point for management at the Department of War. The Congress also authorized $131 million for construction of new dining facilities.
Basic Allowance for subsistence usage accounting
Following House Armed Services Committee hearings and a letter from Congress prompted by press reports, the Congress moved in the National Defense Authorization Act to improve administration, transparency, and Congressional oversight of military food program budgets to ensure Basic Allowance for Subsistence is being used to provide food to our servicemembers. The law requires the Department of War to “amend section 402 of title 37, United States Code, to base the Basic Allowance for Subsistence for enlisted members on the Department of Agriculture’s liberal food plan and to clarify the calculation of the allowance for members receiving meals under Essential Station Messing”. It also “requires the Secretary of Defense to submit annual reports through 2028 on the budgeting and use of funds for the Basic Allowance for Subsistence and military food service programs with an implementation plan and an annual report through 2028 addressing the sources and use of funds for food programs.”
Expanding base wide food programs and use of meal card
Citing success on the Army and Air Force bases, the Congress moved to make it easier for servicemembers to access food on base with their Common Access Cards or “other approved methods at food and retail locations on military installations.”
Urged single focal point food program management at all installations.
The Congress expressed its concerns about the “adequacy, availability, and quality of food options available to servicemembers at military installations, including on-base dining facilities,” the Defense Act said. “Additionally, the committee recognizes the responsibility for military food programs is fragmented and it is spread across multiple offices and commands. We believe this negatively impacts the management and oversight of these programs. As a result, the committee is interested in establishing a single point of contact for the entirety of military food programs to improve quality, access and oversight.”
Plan for increasing access to nutritious food on military installations
The Congress directed the “Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, to provide a briefing to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than June 1, 2026, on efforts to assess and improve access to nutritious food on military installations. The briefing shall include:
(1) A summary of current nutrition standards and policies within each military department;
(2) An overview of actions taken since the June 2024 GAO report to implement its recommendations;
(3) The extent to which nutrition standards are reflected in food options at both appropriated and nonappropriated fund food venues; and
(4) Any ongoing or planned initiatives by the Department to increase access to nutritious foods for servicemembers and their families. “
