PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- How do you plan Thanksgiving dinner for 180,000 people more than 6,000 miles away? If you are a food buyer at the Defense Logistics Agency, you start by making a shopping list in April for meals to be served to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Providing superb meals to our U.S. troops is a critical mission of the Defense Logistics Agency and one we put a great deal of effort into," said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Chambers. He commands the DLA Philadelphia field activity which provides all the food for U.S. military personnel worldwide, 365 days a year. "It's very important to us to give our troops a taste of home during the holidays, so we start planning the traditional Thanksgiving meal even before Memorial Day rolls around," Chambers said.
DLA employees in the Philadelphia-based Subsistence supply chain start their Thanksgiving meal planning this early to make sure that food items and ingredients will arrive overseas in time for the holiday. Many ingredients for the meals are on hand at prime vendor locations by September, and bigger dining facilities start receiving high-volume items like turkeys and large beef roasts in October.
U.S. Navy Capt. Ed Rackauskas, director of DLA's Subsistence directorate, said in Iraq and Afghanistan, deliveries began in mid-October to allow for any unexpected changes or possible redistribution due to movement of troops. "No matter where troops are stationed, they can expect DLA to provide the best possible meal for Thanksgiving," he added.
He said putting together these meals is challenging particularly in supplying some of the bigger dining facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan where holiday meals are served all day to accommodate service members working different shifts.
These charts illustrate the quantity and dollar amount for feeding the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan Thanksgiving meals.
Holiday Requirements 2009
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Iraq
----
Thanksgiving
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Quantities Dollars
---------- -------
Whole Turkey/Raw & Precooked 225,980 lbs. $795,359.08
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Turkey Breast/White 77,648 lbs. $416,969.76
---------------------------- ------------ -----------
Turkey Thigh/Dark 73,296 lbs. $236,013.12
---------------------------- ----------- -----------
Ham 40,826 lbs. $135,020.26
--- ----------- -----------
Beef 23,536 lbs. $128,019.30
---- ----------- -----------
Shrimp 28,764 lbs. $180,062.64
------ ----------- -----------
Stuffing Mix 37,107 lbs. $87,421.94
------------- ----------- ----------
Potatoes 41,515 lbs. $102,362.32
-------- ----------- -----------
Sweet Potatoes 9,702 cans $60,799.20
-------------- ---------- ----------
Vegetables, Corn/Green Beans 59,435 lbs. $80,771.42
---------------------------- ----------- ----------
Cranberry Sauce 7,188 cans $52,448.44
--------------- ---------- ----------
Pies 26,946 each $245,320.33
---- ----------- -----------
Cakes 13,544 each $220,915.68
----- ----------- -----------
665,487 $2,741,483.49
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Holiday Requirements 2009
-------------------------
Afghanistan
-----------
Thanksgiving
------------
Quantities Dollars
---------- -------
Whole Turkey/Raw & Precooked 48,228 lbs. $121,143.96
---------------------------- ----------- -----------
Turkey Breast/White 28,235 lbs. $134,682.35
---------------------------- ----------- -----------
Turkey Thigh/Dark 14,112 lbs. $32,034.24
---------------------------- ----------- ----------
Ham 22,950 lbs. $62,424.00
--- ----------- ----------
Beef 112,467 lbs. $520,489.01
---- ------------ -----------
Shrimp 21,168 lbs. $140,555.52
------ ----------- -----------
Stuffing Mix 24,706 lbs. $49,838.88
------------- ----------- ----------
Potatoes 23,814 lbs. $19,815.60
-------- ---------- ----------
Sweet Potatoes 3,529 cans $15,017.65
-------------- ---------- ----------
Vegetables, Corn/Green Beans 48,397 lbs. $23,766.47
---------------------------- ----------- ----------
Cranberry Sauce 1,764 cans $8,869.98
--------------- ---------- ---------
Pies 24,706 each $126,411.76
---- ----------- -----------
Cakes 2,824 each $46,243.00
----- ---------- ----------
376,901 $1,301,292.42
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As the Department of Defense's combat logistics support agency, DLA is responsible for providing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, other federal agencies, and joint and allied forces with a variety of logistics, acquisition and technical services. The agency sources and provides nearly 100 percent of the consumable items America's military forces need to operate, from food, fuel and energy, to uniforms, medical supplies, and construction and barrier equipment. DLA also supplies about 84 percent of the military's spare parts.
DLA is headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., and has 25,000 employees worldwide. DLA's business revenues were almost $38 billion in Fiscal Year 2009. For more information about DLA, go to www.dla.mil.
Defense Logistics Agency
