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Academy provides 'Falcon Fuel' to Cadet Wing

  • Published
  • By Mike Kaplan
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Athletic Department
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The Air Force Academy has developed Falcon Fuel, a plan to provide extra nutrition for cadets by placing 12 healthy food stations near their workout areas.

The plan is expected to cost $500,000 annually and aligns with the Defense Department's Healthy Base Initiative, which tries to stem obesity in the U.S. by promoting a healthy lifestyle.

The healthy food was selected by Shelly Morales, a cadet nutritionist.

"Nutrition is an integral piece of the performance puzzle that is finally gaining some traction," Morales said. "The selected nutritional products stocked in the stations will serve as an educational tool for our athletes on proper fueling. The goal is to improve the performance of athletes, aid in the recovery after exercise, and encourage a foods-first philosophy to reduce the risk of ineffective or dangerous supplement use."

The cost of Falcon Fuel is funded in large part by the Academy's food budget.

"As an institution, we chose to reinvest existing dollars spent on feeding the Cadet Wing by better aligning where and when supplemental nutrition is offered," said John Coulahan, the Athletic Department's finance director. "Falcon Fuel doesn't replace the three-square-meals offered by our dining facility but rather provides all 4,000 cadets nutrition during pre-and post-workouts when their bodies will benefit most."

Coulahan said the Academy's Falcon Fuel plan is a bargain.

"For example, Baylor University (Waco, Texas) will spend $1.5 million; the Universities of Nebraska and Wisconsin will spend $1.2 million respectively on new annual costs to fund athletic nutrition and their programs only target intercollegiate athletes," Coulahan said. "We view every cadet as an athlete and we've put our money where their mouth is."

Jim Knowlton, the Academy's Athletic Director, said the plan will benefit the entire Cadet Wing.

"We have 4,000 elite athletes here," Knowlton said. "We needed to find a way to get additional nutrition to these cadets as they go through the demanding Academy experience."