I ran across this little item from CNN this morning when perusing the daily bounty on the Food News wires. I’ll bet you’ll be as amazed as I was at the sheer magnitude of the Thanksgiving Dinner supplies the U.S. government has shipped to its military forces currently serving abroad…
Even the troops who are literally on the front lines get
a special dinner on Thanksgiving Day…
It’s hard to believe, at least until you take into account the fact that thousands and thousands of U.S. military personnel are serving in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan, as well as along the U.S.-Mexico border right now. The number is approximately 40,000, about the same as were serving abroad last year.
The main dish…
The U.S Defence Logistics Agency (DLA) reports it sent 9,738 whole turkeys to military units deployed in the field this Thanksgiving. But that’s just the beginning. They also sent 51,234 pounds of pre-roasted Turkey, 67,860 pounds of Shrimp, 74,036 pounds of Beef, and 21,758 pounds of Ham. That’s a lot of protein!
“Many of America’s military men and women are away from home this Thanksgiving, making sacrifices to secure our freedom and to protect our southern border,” Army Brig. Gen. Mark Simerly told CNN. “The DLA Troop Support staff and I are excited about this amazing opportunity to provide them the very best Thanksgiving meal our country has to offer.”
How to they get it all together?
Planning for Thanksgiving Dinner for the troops began last May, DLA Deputy Director of Troop Support Rich Faso revealed. It takes that long to line up the purchase and delivery of the various food items included on the official military Thanksgiving plate. Aside from the aforementioned main dishes, tonnes of canned Veggies (Kernel Corn and Green Peas) are shipped out along with 16,284 pounds of Sweet Potatoes, Gravy, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce and Bread.
How come so much more this year?
Somebody must have complained that they left their mess hall Thanksgiving feast still hungry last year. This year, DLA shipped the troops 81,360 pies for Thanksgiving dessert. That’s 12 times more than they sent last year. DLA spokeswoman Michelle McCaskill says the dramatic increase is the result of a redefinition of how many slices the military officially gets out of a ‘standard’ Pie. The DLA has also shipped 10,000 more cakes (for a total of almost 20,000) – mainly Cheesecakes – than it did last year.
What’s a Holiday feast without the Eggnog? U.S. troops deployed abroad need not worry over shortages in that department, either. The DLA sent nearly 8,000 gallons this year.
Put it all together…
…And it comes out to more than 300,000 pounds / 136,000 kg of food, just for the deployed troops’ Thanksgiving Dinner. That ought to make being separated from their families a little easier to take…
~ Maggie J.