The Army's Stomach

What food do soldiers like, what do they eat because they have to? To find the answer to this and many another delicate dietetic question, the Army detailed Master Sergeant Horace Scherwin and 50 other enlisted men. In a twelve-month they examined meals served to 2,474,362 men in 500 Army mess halls, measured the contents of countless garbage cans, clocked eating habits. By last week they were able to report that the U.S. soldier:

> Likes hot dogs better than any other meat, dislikes soup.

> Likes mashed potatoes, dislikes Army fried potatoes (35% uneaten). > Likes fruit and gelatin desserts better than pie.

^ Likes coffee weak, prefers cocoa to coffee.

> Next to frankfurters the soldier likes baked ham. Then roast veal and sausage. Fifteen per cent of all roast beef, bacon and cold cuts goes back to the kitchen, 25% of liver. Never strong for green vegetables, the soldier especially detests kale. He likes baked potatoes next to mashed.

> For dessert, cakes and cookies are top favorites, canned fruits next. Pies trail fruit salad and gelatins. Least popular: puddings.

>For breakfast the soldier prefers dry to cooked cereals, eats 87% of the prunes served him, 82% of the scrambled eggs, drinks 71% of the coffee. Most eating is done at noon, 92% as much is done at breakfast, only 68% as much at evening. There is little dawdling at table. Breakfast takes about 18 1/2 minutes, noon dinner 19 1/4, supper 17 1/4.

>Weather has a strong influence on the soldier's appetite. On cold, brisk days he wants 6% more than in moderate weather, 12% less on a hot day. After a day on the rifle range he eats 5% more than after a day in barracks, more during overcast weather than clear.

> If the soldier pitches in at once, he eats 2% more than if he must wait, according to Army custom, until all have lined up at their places. He eats more if an officer is at his table. If smoking is permitted, 5% more food is consumed. The soldier averages 5 1/2 lb. of food a day. (Civilian average: 4 lb.) Cost averages 56-c- per man a day.

Results. Scherwin's survey, made on orders from Major General Edmund B. Gregory, Quartermaster General, recommended that cooks cease preparing meals to feed the number of men at the morning roll call. He found absenteeism at dinner and supper often ran as high as 20%. Reasons: mild illness, eating at post exchanges, anxiety to get away early on leave. By allowing for absentees, the Army hopes to cut $119,000,000 from its annual food bill, which in 1943 will be about $1,250,000,000. Other savings may be made by eliminating wastage that Scherwin uncovered, but the chief gain will be that the soldier will get more of the food he likes, less of such items as kale and liver.

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