About
The Military Nutrition Environment (MNE) team is part of the Center for Advanced Research for Military Optimization, Readiness, and Rehabilitation (ARMORR) at the Uniformed Services University (USU). The MNE team is committed to researching and enhancing the nutrition environment on military bases to improve the nutritional readiness and health of service members. Our programs and projects include Go for Green® (G4G), Military Nutrition Environment Assessment Tool (mNEAT), single nutrient health, and more.
What is MNE?
Think about what’s available (foods, drinks, and dietary supplements) on your local military installation or ship—everything from vending machines to commissaries to dining facilities build the nutrition environment around you. MNE consists of all these available options within a local military setting, including DoD-funded food service operations and commercial venues.
Why is MNE important?
Good nutrition establishes and promotes a healthy foundation for life. Less than ideal intake of nutrient-rich foods affects your ability to train, body weight, and risk of injury or chronic disease. A supportive nutrition environment provides access and availability to the type of fuel (foods and drinks) that helps Service Members and other members of the military community optimize their health and performance. Providing more choices for easy to find, delicious high-performance options fuels the military community to perform at their best—whether you’re on the job, at the gym, with your family, or on missions.
How does MNE affect me?
MNE impacts where Service Members live, work, train, and play. Good nutrition supports health, performance, and endurance throughout your life and career cycle. Many Service Members fall short of the recommended amount of nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Food service venues that offer more choices for high-performance fuel provide more opportunities to meet nutritional needs. A military nutrition environment that offers convenient, cost-effective, nutritious, and tasty foods also benefits the entire military setting.
What is the process to improve my local MNE?
Improving your local MNE includes an assessment to determine the current food landscape, collaboration and communication with community stakeholders, and development of strategies to enhance your nutrition environment. It’s a multi-step process that works best with a solid team in place along with support from leadership and your community. Click on the button to find out more.
Learn more about MNE
How do I assess my local MNE?
The Military Nutrition Environment Assessment Tool (mNEAT) provides an objective way to assess your local MNE. If you’re interested in learning more about the mNEAT app, contact CHAMP’s MNE Team at mneat@usuhs.edu .
How can I improve my local nutrition environment?
After you assess your MNE, what’s next? You can use this information to create an intervention or action plan to target a specific MNE area. Improving the local nutrition environment might mean working to offer more menu options or choices like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats that are high in nutrients, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Also, improvements can mean making these options easier to find, quicker to grab for hungry diners short on time, and more budget-friendly to support nutritional fitness. Another strategy to improve your local MNE involves educating consumers and promoting high-performance choices in all venues. Lastly, creating or revising local policies that encourage a healthier food environment shows leadership support.
Check out the “Plan & Take Action” section for information on building a plan to enhance the accessibility, availability, and knowledge of nutrient-dense options.