VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the face of a global pandemic, the stress of COVID-19 has not stopped the mission at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Units from across the installation continue to provide support in order to take care of the well-being of Airmen and their families to ensure essential operations remain unaffected.
To help provide that support, the 30th Force Support Squadron and the Defense Commissary Agency team have been at the forefront of maintaining mission readiness for the base by providing healthy meals and services.
To assist the community, the Pacific Coast Club Meals-To-Go program has expanded its existing service from one day per week to three in order to help families with additional meal options. Pick-up is now available on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
To receive a meal-to-go, members must place an order by 12 p.m. on the same day as they plan to pick it up by contacting the PCC at 805-606-3330. A staff member will then deliver the meal to the member’s vehicle at the PCC main door. Pick-up is from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
According to Madysyn Coleman, 30th FSS PCC barista, to ensure health and safety protection measures are taken, all meals at the PCC are to-go, staff members sanitize all objects and surfaces in the dining room, and door handles are cleaned every hour to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Breakers Dining Facility has also made accommodations to support our Airmen during this time. Breakers is fully functional and is offering take-out services for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“We are cleaning and sanitizing every 30 minutes and ensuring customers are not touching surfaces with personal items,” said Sakine Lucero, Breakers’ Food and Beverage manager.
Additionally, DeCA has implemented new procedures to commissaries across the Department of Defense to better assist shoppers. The Vandenberg AFB Commissary is maintaining social distancing practices by limiting patronage to 100 customers at a time and has put additional restrictions in place to better assist customers.
“The health and safety of our customers and patrons continues to be of high importance” said Chris Spurlock, Commissary officer. “We are focusing on restocking and getting the store ready every day because food is an essential that is vital to keep people going.”
Despite the circumstances, Vandenberg AFB personnel working at the different food service locations have continued to work together to take care of Airmen and provide the best options for families on the installation.
“My coworkers and I have always been really close and a great team, but we’ve all really bonded over this event and are being extra supportive of each other and our customers and trying to keep everyone’s stress levels low,” said Coleman. “I’ve found all of us asking each other ‘What can I do to help you?’ a lot more these past few days.”
Vandenberg AFB continues to preserve mission readiness every day and remains resilient by supporting healthy warfighters, one meal at a time.