WASHINGTON, DC – August 14, 2020 – The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) announced today that it will honor the winners of this year’s Military Foodservice Awards with a Facebook Live virtual event presented by Computrition on Wednesday, September 16th at 1800 EDT (6 p.m. EDT). The Virtual Military Foodservice Awards (VMFA) is a key part of the NRAEF’s commitment to help members of the military, military spouses and veterans through training and post-duty opportunities.
This year’s keynote speaker is Leon Panetta, Former Director of the CIA and Former U.S. Secretary of Defense and Chairman of The Panetta Institute for Public Policy. During the live event, individuals and teams will be honored for their commitment to foodservice excellence in management effectiveness, force readiness support, food quality, employee and customer relations, resource conservation, training and safety awareness.
“We are honored welcome our U.S. service members and veterans into the restaurant industry each year,” said Rob Gifford, president of the NRAEF. “Typically, we celebrate the best of the best in military foodservice during the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, which was canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we miss hosting them in person we are just as excited to cheer them on virtually.”
Winners for these prestigious awards are chosen by distinguished judges from the NRAEF, the National Restaurant Association and the Society for Foodservice and Hospitality Management – judges who travel annually with military foodservice experts to installations around the globe to evaluate foodservice operations.
“As an executive for Sodexo, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s largest sponsor of military foodservice programming, and a member of the NRAEF Board of Trustees, I am in a unique position to see firsthand the tremendous impact the organization has on military foodservice professionals. I also served as a judge for this year’s award program, which gave me an even deeper appreciation for the talented service men and women being honored,” said Brett Ladd, CEO, Sodexo Government, North America. “I commend all military foodservice professionals for their unwavering dedication to both their country and their fellow service members and I congratulate those teams being recognized with Military Foodservice Awards. You are the best of the best and you make us proud!”
Sponsors of the Military Foodservice awards include Sodexo, Ecolab, Hormel, HMSHost Foundation, Computrition, Aramark, Sysco, BJ’s Restaurant, Butterball, Seaboard, PenFed Credit Union, SHFM Foundation, Sack Family Foundation, Hobart and Trinchero Family Estates.
For more information and to sign up for the virtual event, visit the NRAEF’s Facebook page.