SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- The Southern Eagle Dining Facility at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. will re-open Oct. 29, 2020 with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
After two years of being inactive, the Southern Eagle Dining Facility will be open to all service members, dependents, civilians and retirees. Additionally, the Afterburner Flight Kitchen, located on the flightline, will also be reopened and available to service members who are working on the flightline.
Building renovations and menu upgrades such as ‘Food 2.0’ will provide healthy for options for customers on the installation.
Food 2.0 is an Air Force initiative developed to enhance food quality, variety and availability of nutritious meals in providing and sustaining military force for wartime feeding operations and capabilities. This initiative focuses on Airmen’s changing needs and lifestyles, customer preferences and greater access to meals, as well as influencing a sense of community in the food service operation.
The service offers campus style dining, which means meal card holders can go to the Compass Café & Ten Pin Café for meals with some limitations to cost. There will be a $12 limit for lunch and dinner and a $6 limit for breakfast when using the other eating establishments on the installation. If the selected meals cost more than what is allotted, members must pay the rest out of pocket.
With a variety of menu options, Food 2.0 is designed to appease a diverse crowd with a mixture of healthy foods. With this new initiative, there will be multiple food stations available in the DFAC to include a breakfast bar, individual pizzas and pastas, globally-inspired sandwiches and bowls, traditional grill favorites, sub sandwiches made with fresh baked bread, and a Simply-To-Go station with fresh and healthy salad, soups and pre-packaged items.
Meal card holders will be able to utilize campus-style dining beginning Oct. 27, before the DFAC is open to the rest of the installation.
During COVID-19, the DFAC’s max capacity is set to 160 dining-in customers.
“I’m excited for what the DFAC will offer,” said Airman 1st Class Kevin Holloway, 4th Fighter Wing public affairs journeyman and dorm resident. “It sounds like we will have a lot options, I’m not sure what I’ll want to try first.”
Dorm Airmen previously receiving the approximate $740 monthly stipend for food throughout the renovation, can now expect for that allowance to end Oct. 27. It’s important for Airmen to understand this change of income and to budget accordingly. The Airmen and Family Readiness Center offers financial counseling and services for all personnel.
“If you can take control of your spending, you can avoid financial hardships,” said Travis Williams, AFRC personal financial readiness manager. “You have to plan and look at your categories of spending and allocate your money accordingly. The only way to prevent a financial hardship is to be prepared, and that starts with a spending plan.”
Airmen can contact the AFRC to schedule an appointment with a personal financial readiness manager at (919) 722-1123.
Hours for the Southern Eagle DFAC will be Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and weekends and holidays 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Afterburner Flight Kitchen is open Sunday-Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. and Saturdays and holidays 12 a.m. to 3 a.m.