The Military Nutrition Environment Assessment Tool (mNEAT) evaluates 9 venue types across military installations. Whether you’re new to using the mNEAT app, need a refresher, or have a new food operation on your local installation, follow the tables below to match each venue to the correct venue type assessment. Use the Nutrition Environment Landscape Inventory to track your installation’s venues and aim to assess at least one venue per type.
mNEAT Assessment: Individual Venues
| Venue Type | Assessment Description | Operation Types |
|---|---|---|
| Commissary | Defense Commissary Agency operated on-base grocery stores | – |
| Dining facility or galley | Appropriated-funded facilities that prepare or serve meals to authorized personnel | Cafeteria or campus-style dining facilities, warrior restaurants, galleys, and mess halls |
| Express | Military-run or military-contracted food and retail operations | Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Navy Exchange (NEX), and Marine Corps Exchange (MCX) retail stores, convenience stores, gas stations, micro markets, mini-marts, and kiosks |
| Fast food | Commercial quick-service restaurants | Food courts or free-standing operations, such as Burger King, Subway, McDonald’s |
| Food trucks | Military-run or contracted operations | Mobile food operations |
| Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) | MWR-run or military-contracted food operations | Clubs, restaurants, snack bars, coffee shops, fitness center juice bars, bowling center grill |
| Vending Machines | Service, commercial, or Randolph Sheppard-run machines | Refrigerated, non-refrigerated, beverage, and mixed-refrigerated vending machines |
| Level One | Review of vending contracts (vendor name, contract dates), including any healthy options policies | – |
| Level Two (Optional) | Review of vending machine food and beverage availability and behavioral design in high-volume locations, including healthy option labels (Fit PickTM), placement, and messages | – |
Two assessments review only the installation-level food environment and don’t require visiting or reviewing a particular venue. Complete only one assessment for each of the below venue types per installation.
mNEAT Assessment: Installation Level
| Venue Type | Assessment Description | Operation Types |
|---|---|---|
| Community | Reviews how well the installation supports and encourages healthy eating through collaborative partnerships and community nutrition initiatives, such as nutrition environment working group, farmers’ market, and community gardens | – |
| Worksite | Reviews leadership support through installation policies and philosophies that foster a healthy workplace, such as nutrition guidelines for food and beverages offered at meetings and work events | – |
Have a venue that doesn’t fit into one of these categories? Contact mneat@usuhs.edu or your service lead for more information.