Flight kitchen

Airman 1st Class Tiffany Cristo, 92nd Force Support Squadron food services apprentice, and Airman 1st Class Marina Ericson, 92nd FSS food services apprentice, prepare food for boxed meals, Aug. 24, 2016, at Fairchild Air Force Base. The flight kitchen offers an online order form through the base’s SharePoint, so Airmen can see what foods are available and place an order. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Sean Campbell)

Flight kitchen sandwich

Airman 1st Class Tiffany Cristo, 92nd Force Support Squadron food services apprentice, makes a sandwich in the flight kitchen, Aug. 24, 2016, at Fairchild Air Force Base. Flight kitchens vary base to base. The Fairchild flight kitchen is attached to the Warrior Dining Facility, but at some bases, the flight kitchen can be found on the runway for convenience. Some bases have their flight kitchen program consolidated. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Sean Campbell)

Flight kitchen clean up

Airman 1st Class Tiffany Cristo, 92nd Force Support Squadron food services apprentice, cleans the flight kitchen Aug. 30, 2016, at Fairchild Air Force Base. The supplemental options in the boxed meals are often pre-contained food items such as individual packages of raisins and granola bars. For the entrées, the kitchen makes several different types of sandwiches including turkey, ham and peanut butter and jelly. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Sean Campbell)

Food is fuel, Fairchild’s flight kitchen

Published Aug. 31, 2016
By Airman 1st Class Sean Campbell
92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- If you have been to the Warrior Dining Facility, chances are you’ve walked past what is called the flight kitchen, but only a fraction of team Fairchild members have ever entered it.

The flight kitchen prepares boxed meals that are available to flight crews and other members of Team Fairchild who would not be able to attend the Warrior Dining Facility during regular hours of operation.

“We provide around 3,600 meals annually to the Airmen of Fairchild,” said Tech. Sgt. Tia Thomas, 92nd Force Support Squadron NCO in charge at the Warrior Dining Facility.

The boxed meals, the supplemental options are often pre-contained food items such as individual packages of raisins and granola bars. For the entrées, the kitchen makes several different types of sandwiches including turkey, ham and peanut butter and jelly.

“We also have meals that we can give personnel if their flight has certain restrictions,” said Airman 1st Class Tiffany Cristo, 92nd FSS food services apprentice. “These can include space restrictions or if they have to eat their food with an oxygen mask on.”

The Flight kitchen also offers an online order form through the base’s SharePoint, so Airmen can see what foods are available and place an order.

“With the online order form, it’s as simple as providing your name, grade, entrée and what supplement you want,” said Cristo. “Then you fill out the pickup date, fax it to us and give us a call. There is usually a two hour time limit for when you can pick up a meal unless you are part of the PAX terminal.”

During exercises, the flight kitchen receives many more flight meal requests than in a regular week and provides delivery with the help of the 92nd Logistics Readiness Squadron.

Flight kitchens vary base to base. The Fairchild flight kitchen is attached to the Warrior Dining Facility, but at some bases, the flight kitchen can be found on the runway for convenience. Some bases have their flight kitchen program consolidated.

The flight kitchen has a direct impact on the mission by providing convenient meals to those who cannot leave work to get food or need to have food ready outside of regular hours of operation. For more information on ordering and options at Fairchild’s flight kitchen call 247-5348.