Pallets of supplies are delivered to the USS Theodore Roosevelt in a replenishment-at-sea during the RIMPAC exercises in July 2026. Aircraft carriers typically spend months at sea at a time, requiring a complicated logistical effort to resupply them. (US Navy/Mass Communication Spc. 3rd Class Alexia Mezick)

How Do US Sailors Stay Fed on an Aircraft Carrier?

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The recent challenges aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln highlight the efforts the Navy goes to to keep thousands of sailors in the middle of the ocean fed for months at a time.

A deployed US aircraft carrier is essentially a floating city. America’s Nimitz- and Ford-class supercarriers have crews of 5,000 or more, split between sailors and aviation personnel. The logistical requirement of keeping any such carrier operational is immense. And while much is made of the attention given to the carrier’s aircraft or its nuclear reactors, one of the most complicated pieces of logistics is far simpler: making sure that everyone aboard the ship has access to three meals a day, every day, for months on end while in the middle of the ocean.

At three meals per person, 5,000 personnel means roughly 15,000 individual meals every........

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