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SAFB competes for Hennessy Award and top AF honors

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Amber Kelly-Woodward
  • 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  This week the Nightinggale Inn Dining Facility will compete against eight other Air Force bases for the Air Force Award for a chance to make it their third Air Force Hennessy Award. 

The Dining Facility won the 2009 Air Mobility Command John L. Hennessy Award, making it their eighth major command Hennessy Award. 

The Dining Facility works hard to feed its more than 750 customers a day about 40 entrée choices, well above the Air Force standard of about 20 entrée choices.
"The Dining Facility never stops," said Airman 1st Class Carlos Rodriguez, 375th Services Squadron Services craftsman. "We're open every day, weekends, down days and holidays. Airmen always need to be fed." 

In addition to its normal operation hours, the Dining Facility opens Grab-n-Go from 6-8 p.m. which serves microwave-ready meals for Airmen who work past 4:30 p.m., as well as breakfast items for the next morning. 

The flight kitchen is open all night and the Dining Facility feeds any patients who arrive from the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. 

On top of everything else, the Dining Facility also hosts specialty meals, such as the upcoming Hearts Apart dinner which will be held Saturday. Families of deployed members will be invited. 

The work that goes into the Dining Facility is just as hard as the work that comes out.
"A year ago the Dining Facility entered the 'go-green initiative' and since then is leading the way," said Randolph Rose, Nightingale Inn Dining Facility general manager.
Improvements to the Dining Facility include installing earth-friendly ceiling tiles made from popped-stone dust. The tiles are designed so that if they end up in a landfill they will crumble to dust. 

Since last August, recyclable carry-out containers have been in use. The new containers are made of 100 percent natural and sustainable materials. These containers and cups are made from corn, potatoes and sugar cane. 

The Dining Facility purchased an eCorect to take another step toward green initiatives. The eCorect takes cardboard and composite waste, including the new recyclable containers, and decomposes them to reduce waste to up to 80 percent. The soil supplement produced is then used for the base garden spot at Outdoor Recreation. 

Lastly, the Dining Facility also purchased the Sterilox Food Safety System. The system produces a sanitizer that is all natural, yet kills more than 200 viruses and bacteria, according to the Sterilox Food Safety Web site. The Dining Facility also partnered with the base fitness centers to provide the sanitation device to mist hard surfaces overnight.
The Dining Facility is composed of 19 military members, 46 civilian contractors and one Department of Defense civilian. The Dining Facility, in partnership with the National Institute for the Severely Handicapped, has a workforce in which sixty percent of the civilian contractors are disabled. 

"I enjoy working with the civilians because it provides a dual work environment for me," said Airman Rodriguez. "I get the military atmosphere and the civilian atmosphere, but we all have fun."