Still early, but looks promising. I remember when I was in Japan, we did some bilateral training on a Japanese base in Hokkaido. We at at their mess hall. It was a completely different world compared to what we had on Okinawa. There was a few dozen old Japanese ladies in the back that you could see making everything fresh. Chopping veggies, stirring pots, plating food. We were also close to a dairy farm, and would get milk from that farm. We ate lots of fish, which got really old for most of the Marines, but that was from local fishermen.

It always baffled me how junior enlisted would forgo essentially free food and spend 5-10 bucks a meal 2-3 times a day on fast food. Hopefully this helps their health, their wallets, and makes its way to all the services.

ETA: Also, I think combining stuff like this with upgrades to barracks may actually help with retention.

I spent a tour in Vicenza and the Italian Air Force had a mess hall at the airfield that rivaled Olive Garden. Now OG ain't great but compared to an Army mess hall it's got a Michelin star. Pasta, meat, fresh bread, and of course wine. For lunch. And Italian C-Rations had brandy in them. It wasn't good brandy but it was better than the brandy that wasn't in US C-rations.

You can't paying off political cronnies if they aren't any govt contracts