Army adopts stop-light food labeling system in cafeterias

The United States Army is responsible for a number of things. This not only includes protecting the country, but also caring for and feeding the soldiers that make up the organization. As such, the army has decided that it needs to revamp its cafeteria and nutritional efforts by creating the “Soldier Fueling Initiative,” a project that uses custom labels to inform soldiers which food choices are the healthiest and which ones are not.

“We can and should offer soldier athletes better food choices, starting with our dining facilities,” Lieutenant Colonel Sonya Cable, chief of the human dimensions division at the Military Training Center of Excellence, said in a press release. “It was tough to find ingredients in food products from vendors that tasted good and looked good. But within the last several years, the food service industry has responded to a growing demand from healthier, tastier food choices.”

The army created a program called “Go For Green,” which is part of its Soldier Fueling Initiative, specializing in providing healthier food options. The Go For Green program follows the stoplight method that this blog has reported on where food considered not nutritious has a red label while very nutritious meals receive a green label.

As the army continues to offer better food options for those defending the United States, other organizations that sell their own private-label foods or offer options for consumers may want to take up the same methods. By investing in a Primera LX900 color label printer, companies can create the custom labels needed to help individuals make better dietary choices.