USDA’s healthy cafeterias get favorable online reviews
October 10, 2014 | 08:30 AM
The Agriculture Department’s cafeterias, whose menus were revamped in 2013 to make them healthier, have gotten little-noticed rave reviews from tourists on the online review site Trip Advisor.
“If the USDA can’t get a cafeteria right, nobody can,” wrote one reviewer on Trip Advisor. “They can and did. We went here after the Holocaust Museum because their cafe was closed for renovations. This was the closest food, and proved a great discovery. There was a varied menu and many healthy choices, all of it pretty cheap. And the immense dining hall featured some great WWII era posters I wish they’d also sold in their tiny gift shop. All you need to get into the building is a photo ID and patience.”
The menus in the South Building Cafeteria, and in the Whitten Café and the People’s Buffet (old secretary’s dining room) in the Jamie L. Whitten Building, were revamped after then-Washington Post writer Jane Black gave the USDA cafeteria a “D” in 2010, and USDA officials decided that vendors soliciting bids for the cafeterias would be required to go fryerless.
The winning bid went to I.L. Creations of Rockville, Md. A Washington Post story at that time noted the change, but also wondered whether USDA employees would accept the healthier fare.
A cafeteria employee at the Agriculture Department’s South Building Cafeteria puts out Mexican food. Many other food stalls, including a salad bar, are also located in the cafeteria. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The South Building cafeteria sells locally produced jams and jellies as well as providing fresh foods. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
Coffee served in the South Building Cafeteria is roasted by the Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company in Crofton, Md. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The South Building Cafeteria is decorated with vintage posters, below, that gave advice to American consumers during the food-rationing years of World War I and World War II.
Circa 1914-1918, Department of Food Supply, Philadelphia
Circa 1914-1918 — U.S. Food Administration
1918 — National War Garden Commission
Circa 1917-1919 — U.S. Food Administration
1943 — Office of War Information
1944
The 'Basic Seven' — 'Eat This Way Every Day.' (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
This poster issued in 1946 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture promoted seven basic food groups:
And, in addition to the Basic Seven ... “Eat Any Other Foods You Want.” (But “Don’t Waste Food.”)
On the way down to the Whitten Cafe in the basement of the USDA headquarters building, patrons pass this stained glass panel depicting a farmer plowing his field at sunrise. The scene is based on photos taken in Chile in the late 1970s and on a cathedral window in Santiago. A plaque says it was created by Charles Erickson of the Agricultural Research Service and that the panel is displayed in the lobby window of the National Small Grains Germplasm Research Facility in Aberdeen, Idaho. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
Longtime USDA employee Kathryn Hill, above, makes food selections in the Whitten Cafe. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The Whitten Cafe in the basement of the Whitten Building has been modernized to encourage conversation as well as eating. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The old secretary’s private dining room on the third floor of the Whitten Building has been renamed the People’s Buffet, and a placard outside the door emphasizes that it is open to all employees. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
▪ Trip Advisor — U.S. Department of Agriculture ▪ Department of Agriculture Headquarters Cafeteria — USDA Headquarters Cafeteria Hours — South Cafeteria Menus — Whitten Dining Room Menus — People’s Buffet ▪ The Washington Post (February 3, 2013) -- In revamped cafeterias, USDA gets a taste of its own medicine ▪ The Washington Post (July 10, 2010) — U.S. Department of Agriculture South Café: Grade D ▪ National Archives — Teaching with Documents: Sow the Seeds of Victory! Posters from the Food Administration During World War I ▪ Smithsonian — American Food Posters from World War I and II ▪ Free Vintage Posters — Food, Don’t Waste It: Vintage U.S. Food Administration War Poster
“If the USDA can’t get a cafeteria right, nobody can,” wrote one reviewer on Trip Advisor. “They can and did. We went here after the Holocaust Museum because their cafe was closed for renovations. This was the closest food, and proved a great discovery. There was a varied menu and many healthy choices, all of it pretty cheap. And the immense dining hall featured some great WWII era posters I wish they’d also sold in their tiny gift shop. All you need to get into the building is a photo ID and patience.”
The menus in the South Building Cafeteria, and in the Whitten Café and the People’s Buffet (old secretary’s dining room) in the Jamie L. Whitten Building, were revamped after then-Washington Post writer Jane Black gave the USDA cafeteria a “D” in 2010, and USDA officials decided that vendors soliciting bids for the cafeterias would be required to go fryerless.
The winning bid went to I.L. Creations of Rockville, Md. A Washington Post story at that time noted the change, but also wondered whether USDA employees would accept the healthier fare.
The South Cafeteria
A cafeteria employee at the Agriculture Department’s South Building Cafeteria puts out Mexican food. Many other food stalls, including a salad bar, are also located in the cafeteria. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The South Building cafeteria sells locally produced jams and jellies as well as providing fresh foods. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
Coffee served in the South Building Cafeteria is roasted by the Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company in Crofton, Md. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
Vintage food posters
The South Building Cafeteria is decorated with vintage posters, below, that gave advice to American consumers during the food-rationing years of World War I and World War II.
Circa 1914-1918, Department of Food Supply, Philadelphia
Circa 1914-1918 — U.S. Food Administration
1918 — National War Garden Commission
Circa 1917-1919 — U.S. Food Administration
1943 — Office of War Information
1944
The USDA’s Basic Seven Food Groups, 1946
The 'Basic Seven' — 'Eat This Way Every Day.' (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
This poster issued in 1946 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture promoted seven basic food groups:
- Leafy, green and yellow vegetables — 1 or more servings
- Citrus fruit, tomatoes and raw cabbage — 1 or more servings
- Potatoes and other vegetables and fruits — 2 or more servings
- Milk, cheese and ice cream —Children 3 to 4 cups milks; Adults 2 or more cups
- Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dried peas and beans — 1 to 2 servings
- Bread, flours, cereals, whole-grain and enriched — Every day
- Butter and fortified margarine — Some daily.
And, in addition to the Basic Seven ... “Eat Any Other Foods You Want.” (But “Don’t Waste Food.”)
‘Turning a Farrow at Sunrise’
On the way down to the Whitten Cafe in the basement of the USDA headquarters building, patrons pass this stained glass panel depicting a farmer plowing his field at sunrise. The scene is based on photos taken in Chile in the late 1970s and on a cathedral window in Santiago. A plaque says it was created by Charles Erickson of the Agricultural Research Service and that the panel is displayed in the lobby window of the National Small Grains Germplasm Research Facility in Aberdeen, Idaho. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The Whitten Café and People’s Buffet
Longtime USDA employee Kathryn Hill, above, makes food selections in the Whitten Cafe. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The Whitten Cafe in the basement of the Whitten Building has been modernized to encourage conversation as well as eating. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
The old secretary’s private dining room on the third floor of the Whitten Building has been renamed the People’s Buffet, and a placard outside the door emphasizes that it is open to all employees. (Jerry Hagstrom/The Hagstrom Report)
▪ Trip Advisor — U.S. Department of Agriculture ▪ Department of Agriculture Headquarters Cafeteria — USDA Headquarters Cafeteria Hours — South Cafeteria Menus — Whitten Dining Room Menus — People’s Buffet ▪ The Washington Post (February 3, 2013) -- In revamped cafeterias, USDA gets a taste of its own medicine ▪ The Washington Post (July 10, 2010) — U.S. Department of Agriculture South Café: Grade D ▪ National Archives — Teaching with Documents: Sow the Seeds of Victory! Posters from the Food Administration During World War I ▪ Smithsonian — American Food Posters from World War I and II ▪ Free Vintage Posters — Food, Don’t Waste It: Vintage U.S. Food Administration War Poster
