Military meals: from dining halls to field rations

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine is committed to ensuring a high-quality and comprehensive food system for the military, fully adapted to the intense workload and demanding service conditions faced by service members.

The Ministry of Defence explains how food provision is organized in the Armed Forces, what service members eat, the purpose of the Food Catalog, the content of rations, and the difference between standard and enhanced field rations.

Food system

Food provision in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is organized according to the Food Catalog, which includes 360 food items. This represents a wide and varied range of food products, including meat and meat products, fish and fish products, dairy products, eggs, assorted vegetables and fruits, nuts, pasta, groats, spices, honey, chocolate, bakery products, and beverages.

The food products listed in the Catalog fully meet the nutritional needs of service members, including those who, for ethical, religious, ecological, or aesthetic reasons, consume only foods permitted by Halal or Kashrut laws, or abstain from animal-derived products.

Food procurement and supplies for the Armed Forces of Ukraine are carried out by the State Operator for Non-Lethal Acquisition (DOT), the Ministry of Defence’s procurement agency, based on requests submitted by military units.

Personnel of military units are provided with either three or four meals a day, depending on the nature of combat operations, training activities, and service conditions.

Under a three-meal system, hot meals are prepared and served three times a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Under a four-meal system, flight personnel, Navy service members, and cadets are provided with an additional meal, served either as a second breakfast or as a second dinner.

Food in military units' canteens is prepared according to the approved food allocation plan.

Meal provision through dining facilities

Meals for service members are provided through dining facilities, either field kitchens or stationary mess halls.

Meals are prepared according to the approved food allocation plan, which is developed based on the basic menu, the available assortment, and the quantities of food products.

During the development of the food allocation plan, additional factors are considered, such as the specifics and intensity of combat operations, training activities, the season, the established meal schedule, and the preferences of the unit’s personnel.

The food allocation plan is developed on a weekly basis and forms the daily menu for the service members of the military unit.

Normally, service members receive:

– for breakfast and dinner: a side dish, a meat or fish course, cold appetizers (salads), bread, butter, and beverages (coffee or tea);

– for lunch: a side dish, a first course (such as borscht or soup), a meat or fish course, cold appetizers (salads), bread, and beverages (such as compote or juice);

– for the second breakfast or evening meal: a side dish, a meat or fish course, bread, butter, and assorted beverages.

Additionally, each meal may include dairy and fermented dairy products, cold cuts (meat, cheese, and vegetable platters), fruits, fruit salads, berries, nuts, sweets, desserts, soft drinks, and bakery products.

The minimum caloric value of a service member’s meals per day must be no less than 3,500 kcal.

Field rations

If hot meals cannot be provided, service members are issued food sets, commonly known as field rations.

Field rations ensure full daily nutrition for service members and come in different menu options with various meal combinations.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine provide two types of field ration packs: the Daily Field Food Set (DFFS) and the Enhanced Daily Field Food Set (EDFFS).

A standard field ration consists of three meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and includes both food and non-food items:

• Ready-to-eat first courses (borscht with meat and soups with meat, in retort packaging);
• Ready-to-eat main courses (porridge with meat and vegetables with meat, in retort packaging);
• First-grade wheat flour hardtacks;
• Dried bread (rusk) made from wheat or rye flour;
• Instant coffee, tea, sugar, honey, fruit jam;
• Spices;
• Disposable tablespoon, napkins.

The energy value of the field ration is 3,500 kcal, which meets the nutritional needs of service members.

An enhanced field ration has been introduced for service members operating under more demanding conditions, including those directly carrying out combat tasks to defend the state in active combat areas.

The difference between the enhanced field ration and the standard one is as follows:

The enhanced field ration includes flameless food heaters that enable meals to be heated in the field without access to fire or other heat sources.

It contains additional food items that raise its energy value to 4,100 kcal:

• – breakfast is supplemented with a packet of dried fruit or dried apricots, and chocolate;
• – dinner is supplemented with a ready-to-eat meat dish (canned stewed meat), instant coffee, and sugar;