Our Bakeries Feed Troops’ Spirits

The Exchange takes care of troops serving overseas through its four bakeries—three in the Pacific and one in Germany—that produce fresh-baked goods made with American flour, so the bread, buns, rolls, tortillas, cakes, doughnuts and other treats taste just like they do back home.

Baked goods from name brands, including Wonder, Home Pride, Country Hearth, Milton’s and more, are shipped to Exchange Express stores and restaurants across Europe, Southwest Asia and the Pacific, nourishing Soldiers, Airmen and military families with familiar, fresh-baked products and tastes of home.

Quality ‘so much better’

Commissaries, military dining halls, ships in port, Quality-of-Life restaurants and child-care programs, and Department of Defense schools also receive the products.

“Because all of our goods are baked fresh, the quality is so much better than if we were to ship frozen products from the States,” said Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes, the Exchange’s senior enlisted advisor. “From Burger King buns for Whoppers to whole-wheat bread for kids’ school meals, the Exchange’s bakeries improve the quality of lives for those who are so far from America by giving them a simple taste of home.”

“The Exchange’s bakeries improve the quality of lives for those who are so far from America by giving them a simple taste of home.”

—Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes

The largest of the Exchange bakeries is in Gruenstadt, Germany. It serves 24 countries, including warzone locations. The 92,000-square-foot facility produces Krispy Kreme doughnuts using proprietary equipment and ingredients, so the doughnuts rolling off the line are just like the ones found at Krispy Kreme shops back in the United States.

In 2016, the plant produced 7 million Krispy Kreme doughnuts for troops and families across Europe.

Touching lives of Warfighters

The Exchange also operates bakeries at Camp Market, Korea; Camp Kinser, Okinawa; and Yokota Air Base, Japan. Together, they produce 2 million loaves of bread, 10.5 million buns and more than 12,500 decorated cakes a year.

“Through the bakeries, the Exchange serves thousands of Soldiers, Airmen and military families overseas,” Reyes said. “The Exchange is ‘all in’ when it comes to taking care of troops, and the bakeries are just another example of how we touch the lives of America’s warfighters.”