General guidance on office snack bars Published Jan. 11, 2008 By Capt. Charles G. Kels Office of the Staff Judge Advocate TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- Unofficial snack bars and coffee funds are a ubiquitous presence in offices and shops across the Air Force. When operated appropriately, these snack funds can be a convenient and useful amenity for unit personnel. When handled improperly, however, unofficial snack bars can run afoul of Air Force and Department of Defense regulations. As a preliminary threshold matter, it is virtually impossible to run a unit snack bar as a fundraising activity. Doing so would violate the prohibition of continuous resale activities in Air Force Initiative 34-223, Private Organization Program. It would also bring the snack bar under the highly restrictive rubric of AFI 36-3101, Fundraising within the Air Force. In general, snack bars are only permissible when operated as a collective purchase activity, for the express purpose of providing limited food and beverage items for unit personnel at cost. This means that the prices of the items in the snack bar must approximate, as closely as possible, the original cost at which they were initially purchased. If prices are raised to finance a unit "slush fund," the snack bar becomes a fundraising activity and is likely prohibited. When snack bars become money-making enterprises, as opposed to the combining of funds by office personnel to collectively buy food items and share the cost, they breach the rule against continuous resale activities. Snack bars operated as collective purchase activities are still subject to certain limitations and guidelines, as specified by AFI 34-223 and other regulations. If the snack fund's total assets exceed a monthly average of $1,000 over a three-month period, the snack bar must become a Private Organization, discontinue on-base operations, or reduce its current assets. Setting up a PO entails drafting bylaws and obtaining the approval of the 72nd Mission Support Group commander. If a snack bar has the potential to be frequented by civilian or contractor personnel who are not entitled to commissary or Army and Air Force Exchange Service privileges, the items in the snack bar may not be purchased from either the commissary or base exchange facility. Unofficial snack bars must not engage in activities that duplicate or compete with AAFES, Services activities, or non-appropriated funds instrumentalities. Thus, snack bars cannot offer identical items available at those facilities, especially during those facilities' regular business hours. If unit snack bars serving night-shift employees have similar offerings to those available at the BX, Tinker Club, golf course, or bowling alley, such snack bars should be closed during those facilities' operating hours. In addition, snack bars may not sell alcoholic beverages. To avoid public health concerns, snack bars should restrict their food offerings to commercially-prepared, pre-packaged, individually-wrapped, non-spoilable items. To ensure that unit snack bars do not adversely impact the mission, their operators should seek prior approval from the commander or supervisor responsible for the functional area. The above discussion is intended to provide general guidance on the recommended operation of organizational snack bars and coffee funds, and is not a legal opinion regarding the operation of any specific snack bar within any specific organization. If you have questions regarding a specific snack bar in your organization, please feel free to contact Capt. Charlie Kels at 739-5811.