An Army installation’s dining facility is closed because of the government shutdown, officials said. 

The Fort Leavenworth Installation Warrior Restaurant is closed “until further notice,” base officials announced in a Facebook post. The Warrior Restaurant is the sole dining facility, or DFAC, on the Kansas base.

For most junior enlisted soldiers, DFACs are one of the few on-base options for meals, especially if they don’t have cars to get off post. Additionally, for those living in the barracks, a portion of their paycheck is allocated to cover the costs of eating at the dining facility.

On Tuesday, the Senate failed to pass a continuing resolution that would’ve provided some funding and marked the 35th day of a lapse in federal appropriations. It has now become the longest shutdown in U.S. history, surpassing 14 other instances since 1980.

There are more than 250 troops living in barracks on the base, according to the Army’s fiscal year 2025 barracks tenant survey. Many of those enlisted soldiers are assigned to the base’s correctional facility for service members found guilty of crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Emails and calls to the base and to the Army’s Installation Command were not immediately returned.

Earlier this year, the Army announced plans to revamp dining facilities at six bases with “campus-style” dining halls that would be run by private contractors. Officials then announced last month that the service planned to expand the project to 10 more bases, including those outside the U.S.

The use of private contractors could mean more disruptions to dining facilities in the event of future government shutdowns and a lack of appropriations to fund those companies.

“We’re now entering what appears to be the longest shutdown in U.S. history, and soldiers were likely depending on that DFAC for consistent, affordable meals. What happens when the Army expands the campus-style dining model and we see even more privatized dining facilities subject to contracts and appropriations?” said Rob Evans, founder of Hots & Cots, a Yelp-like app for enlisted life.

Evans argued that the Fort Leavenworth dining facility closure “isn’t tied to privatization as a whole, but the lack of communication here is very unfortunate.” He noted that the base’s Facebook announcement did not include guidance on where troops should go for food or what other resources would be available. 

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CORRECTION: (11/5/25) This story has been updated to remove references to a contractor on Fort Leavenworth whose role is not associated with the base dining facility. Army officials did not respond to questions about the Fort Leavenworth Installation Warrior Restaurant.

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