Not just a place for eating

The Georgia Pines Dining Facility recently set up small board games on tables at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., Oct. 19, 2011. The dining facility introduced new games and an assortment of events to increase morale and improve the quality of life for Airmen who dine there. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ciara Wymbs/Released)

A place to eat and relax

One of the Georgia Pines Dining Facility dining rooms is newly furnished with a few new renovations on Moody Air Force Base, Ga., Oct. 19, 2011. The dining facility staff has replaced the old carpet, added new seating and games for Airmen to enjoy. They are also in the process of replacing the old kitchen equipment and upgrading the menu to improve the food selection for customers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ciara Wymbs/Released)

Georgia Pines Dining Facility gets entertainment

The Georgia Pines Dining Facility made many renovations to the facility to include adding an arcade basketball hoop, new tables and chairs that will add a modern feel to the dining rooms. The dining facility was first opened on Moody Air Force Base, Ga., in 1955. The last improvements made to the facility were in 2009, when they received new freezers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ciara Wymbs/Released)

Showing food in a new light

Published Oct. 21, 2011
By Airman 1st Class Nicholas Benroth
23rd Wing Public Affairs

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The Georgia Pines Dining Facility provides an invaluable service to all Team Moody members and one that affects the base as a whole by serving hot meals and providing friendly service to its customers.

The dining facility takes this responsibility one step further by providing a friendly atmosphere for patrons to sit, eat, and feel at home, and events aimed at improving morale and the quality of life.

"We try to do all we can to introduce new, healthy items as often as possible to help provide a better selection to our customers," said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Renae Gore, 23rd Force Support Squadron storeroom manager. "We serve approximately 200,000 people in a year, or around16,000 a month."

The dining facility's members work throughout the year to ensure meals are ready, to include holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Georgia Pines hosts an assortment of other events throughout the year like Cupcake Wars, Halloween treats, quarterly birthday meals and their "Iron Chef" competition, which pits teams against each other to discover who is the best team of chefs.

There will be future additions to the Georgia Pines Dining Facility as well to include new equipment that will help save the food services specialist time and money when making their meals.

The dining facility is the second oldest in the Air Force but they are still pushing hoping to get their foot in the door for the upcoming Hennessy Award inspection.

The Hennessy Award is an annual award program which recognizes excellence in food service support within the Air Force.

"It's really time to prove our worth as food service specialists," said Staff Sgt. Tony Witherspoon, 23rd FSS dining facility shift manager. "We want to show everyone that we can be the best in the Air Force."

The Awards Team, which consists of both military and civilian judges, evaluates foodservice programs based on foodservice management, force readiness support, food quality, employee and customer relations, resource conservation, training, and safety.

"We have some great people here and amazing support from our leadership which makes what we do here that much greater," said Gore. "We may be the underdogs in this competition but we will try our hardest."

The dining facility would like to welcome Senior Master Sgt. Rosa Aumack and Chief Master Sgt. Joseph Romeo, members of the Air Combat Command who will be inspecting the dining facility for the Hennessy Award.