Military Meal Service Delivered by Private Catering Companies

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The military food supply market, which has been monopolized by agricultural and fisheries cooperatives for 50 years, is shifting to a competitive system.

On the 5th, the Ministry of National Defense announced, "We will develop a competitive system where not only the agricultural and fisheries cooperatives currently supplying military meals through the electronic procurement system for soldiers' meals but also multiple suppliers can participate."

Among about 1,000 domestic agricultural and fisheries cooperatives, around 90 (about 9% of the total) supply to the military. These cooperatives have been delivering without changes through annual exclusive contracts, resulting in a decline in the quality and variety of ingredients. Additionally, for livestock products such as pigs and chickens, due to 'per-animal contracts,' preferred parts by soldiers like chicken legs or pork neck and sirloin were not supplied.

Military-supplied seafood has ranked at the lowest level in annual satisfaction surveys by external specialized agencies since 2015. White milk, which has low preference within the military, is provided 393 times annually (1.2 units per day) regardless of soldiers' preferences.

The Ministry of National Defense plans to collaborate with the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation to develop next year a system (tentatively named MaT, electronic procurement system for soldiers' meals) adapted exclusively for the military from the school meal electronic procurement system (eaT), to manage menu planning, bidding, contracting, and settlement.

The Ministry also plans to hire 47 nutritionists in the latter half of this year to dispatch nutritionists currently assigned at the corps level (supply units, about 30,000 personnel) down to the division level (about 12,000 personnel). In the long term, nutritionists will be assigned even at the brigade level.

The military expects that nutritionists assigned to each unit will survey soldiers' preferred menus and compose meal plans. In the long term, nutritionists will also be assigned at the brigade level.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.