Ourhome Wins Contract for Soldier Cafeteria at Air Force 20th Fighter Wing

New Team Formed for Customized Services for Young Military Personnel
Positive Feedback on Enhanced Nutrition Menus Including Protein

Global foodcare and catering company Ourhome announced on the 9th that it has won the contract to operate the dining hall for soldiers at the Air Force 20th Fighter Wing.

With this, Ourhome will operate the Air Force 20th Fighter Wing soldiers' dining hall for five years starting from the 1st of this month. Based on over 40 years of experience in the catering and foodservice business and extensive food and cooking-related data, the company plans to provide the best foodservice combining taste, nutrition, and enjoyment to military personnel.

Ourhome cited “customized services for military personnel” as the key point of this contract win. To secure the contract, it organized a proposal task force (TF) and prepared long-term projects including military-tailored operational strategies and development of exclusive ingredients. It is known that seven catering specialist companies participated in the bidding for the Air Force soldiers' dining hall, resulting in fierce competition.

In particular, Ourhome formed a separate proposal team composed of officers and enlisted personnel who recently completed their service and joined as new employees to develop menus and services targeting the younger generation of soldiers. Leveraging their experience, they actively proposed directions and requirements that young soldiers currently expect from the dining hall. They came up with various ideas such as ▲surveying preferred menus and deriving improvement plans ▲nutritionally enhanced menus focusing on protein for self-care ▲incorporating trendy menus and hosting special meal events, which received high praise during the proposal evaluation and played a key role in winning the contract.

Ourhome plans to significantly improve meal quality by focusing above all on taste and nutrition. First, it assigned professional nutritionists and cooking staff whose capabilities have been proven through experience working at the company’s core business sites. Unlike the previous single-menu system, the new menu allows soldiers to choose their main dish, and the menu lineup is strengthened by incorporating global trend menus and collaborations with dining-out brands to improve soldiers’ meal satisfaction. Regular new menu tastings and flavor evaluation meetings will be held to actively reflect soldiers’ feedback, and in the future, special meals featuring invited master chefs, visiting snack food trucks, and experiential events will be held frequently to add enjoyment to soldiers’ mealtime.

Additionally, based on extensive experience operating large-scale corporate cafeterias, Ourhome carried out interior and flow line improvements to alleviate congestion in the soldiers’ dining hall, and replaced the existing stainless steel trays with clean melamine trays and separate soup bowls. It also installed tray dispensers equipped with automatic UV sterilization and ejection functions to enhance hygiene and convenience.

Since foodservice for military personnel is directly linked to military combat power, the highest level of hygiene and safety management capabilities are required. Ourhome established a dedicated organization for food hygiene and safety and health management, and plans to ensure thorough food and environmental safety management through constant ingredient and environment inspections as well as on-site training.

Ourhome also held an opening event. On the first day, a retro game event was held, providing generous snacks such as bakery items. Additionally, on the online event page, participants who left stories in the comments were entered into a draw to receive “Ourhome Galchi Kimchi” as a gift. Warm stories from military personnel were shared, and comments such as “I look forward to mealtime” were posted, showing active participation.

Yang Jeong-ik, head of Ourhome’s MKD Business Division, said, “We are honored to have the opportunity to operate the Air Force soldiers’ dining hall for the first time since Ourhome’s founding, and we plan to concentrate all our capabilities to provide the best foodservice. Since the operation rights for soldiers’ dining halls have been opened to the market, we will strive to create a successful operation case and stand out in the military catering market.”