Veterans Canteen Service

RETAIL SALES
Through the team efforts of the VCS and the VA medical centers, many new and expanded retail stores are now operating at the majority of VA medical centers nationwide. The Richmond store, as pictured, is designed to provide a positive shopping experience for customers with improved traffic flow, better adjacencies, specific selling centers, and more selling space. This, coupled with the emphasis on name brand products and the "VCS Value Price Policy," expands the positive shopping experience provided by the VCS to Veteran patients and their caregivers. Each of the retail facilities is committed to provide unparalleled QUALITY, SERVICE, AND VALUE.

Health & Beauty Care
Everything from hair care products to dental and facial care can be found here. This center features the majority of the VCS house-brand products which offer the long-term patients the opportunity to regularly purchase their personal care essentials at a savings below comparable brand name products. Snack Shop: Selection consists of soft drinks, chips, candy, nuts, cookies, and microwaveable snacks. This center satisfies most needs for a break, lunch or snack.
Gifts
This center offers a varied selection of items that any patient would appreciate and also provides the opportunity for the long term patient to remember a loved one . Greeting cards & gift wrap are also available. Men's Department: This center features men's fashion goods, casual & sport clothing, robes/pajamas, underwear, socks and accessories. Selection includes value price points and brand-name merchandise.
Shoes
Basic stock includes dress shoes as well as athletic shoes for men and women. The center is merchandised for self-service convenience. Stockage includes VCS branded selections as well as national name brands.
Ladies' Department
Selection from undergarments to outer clothing can be found in this center. Accessories that accompany the fashions include scarves, hats, gloves, purses etc. Brand names are featured at reduced prices.
Entertainment/Electronics
This popular center offers a limited selection of name brand entertainment equipment like radios, 'boom boxes', sound systems, TVs and VCRs. Many of the entertainment centers offer music tapes, videos, movies, cassettes, and CDs.
Special Order Center
This is the newest center which is now available in all medical centers. The program allows the customer to place catalog special orders for home delivery on basic items and name brand products ranging from sports equipment, tires, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, wheelchairs, adjustable beds, etc., to specialty items like china, crystal, clocks, luggage, textiles, sculptures and fine jewelry.

FOOD SERVICES
The goal of VCS food services is to provide customers with an "oasis" within, but away from the day-to-day operations of the hospital. A place where tasty meals and snacks, served at reasonable prices by attentive associates, can be enjoyed in a relaxing, convivial environment. A wide variety of food concepts are offered, from traditional cafeteria fare to modern food courts with specialized menu selections.

Our hot entree menu offers a carved meat (roast beef, ham, roast turkey, etc.), a la cart items, fresh or frozen vegetables & hot breads prepared daily.

Our exclusive roasting process allows us to provide you with the best tasting chicken on the market today. To complement our chicken, hot biscuits, assorted vegetables and salads are also offered.

All of our 1/4 lb burgers are made from U.S.D.A. inspected beef. Our grill menu consists of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, deluxe chicken & fish, hot dogs, French fries & onion rings. Garnish your grilled sandwiches to your own special taste at our FREE Fixings Bar. In addition to our hamburger specials, we offer a variety of specials each day, such as a Mexican Bar, and Baked Potato Bar.

Our sandwiches are made from the highest quality meats and cheeses. Breads are baked fresh daily in our ovens right at the counter. Our menu features 8 or 9 sandwiches. In a hurry? Visit our "Quick-Stop" carry out cases for the same freshly made sandwiches.

To make our pizza, we start with our own unique pizza dough, pressed fresh and topped with a special 'secret' sauce. Then we add a double portion of a blend of 5 cheeses and the highest quality meats and vegetables in the market today. Sixteen (16) inch cheese, pepperoni, sausage & combination pizzas are offered daily. By the slice or the whole pie, Papa's Best Pizza can't be beat!

We believe the Fresh Choices Bistro (FCB) concept will satisfy our customer’s requests for menu variety and healthier choices. It offers a wide array of hot sandwiches (e.g. Philly Cheese Steak, Reuben, Portabella Mushroom, etc.) along with the standard sandwiches such as burgers, chicken and fish. For sides, customers can select fries (cooked in Canola oil), fruit cup, tossed salad, or baked potato. For breakfast, we also have options for omelets cooked to order, Belgian waffles, pancakes, etc.

This symbol identifies healthy selections for our health-conscious customers. Selected items contain less than 30% calories from fat, & less than 150 mg. cholesterol.

VENDING SERVICES
Graphic, Button, Link to Vending Services.

VCS offers nationwide 24-hour full-line vending services using state-of-the-art equipment that serves a wide variety of products including: candy and snacks; hot coffee, tea and specialty drinks like cappuccino, espresso and latte; canned beverages; hot and cold entrees, French fries, salads and sandwiches; pre-paid phone cards; and more. The extent of services offered are driven by customer demand. "Take 5" vending locations offer a wide range of vended products served in attractive settings where customers can take a break from their hospital duties or medical visits to enjoy a tasty snack and drink, or a complete meal. The VCS provides full-line services with state-of-the-art equipment. A wide variety of equipment and products are available to serve the needs of the customers including:

Chilled snack machines
French fry machines
Hot drink centers with cappuccino, espresso, and latte
Ice cream
Canned beverages
Entrees and cold Sandwiches
Prepaid phone cards

Many VCS vending areas are displaying our "Take 5" logo and offer upgraded surroundings to provide a positive shopping and dining experience. The VCS vending program is administered by the Chief, Food/Vending Operations, VCS Central Office. Vendors interested in doing business with the VCS vending operations on a national basis can contact Vending Operations at 314-845-1244. Canteen chiefs, located at each of the 172 VA medical centers are responsible for the procurement of local or regionally demanded products.

Special Order Call Center - Call 800-664-8258
This program allows customers to call 800-664-8258 to place catalog orders for products for home delivery or delivery to the VA Canteen for pickup. A phone is located at each Special Order Kiosk near or in Canteen retail stores. The program offers basic items ranging from exercise equipment, tires, large appliances, ready to assemble furniture, etc., to special items such as china, clocks, luggage, and fine jewelry. We currently include brand-name products from Panasonic, Movado, Hummell, Whirlpool, General Electric, Noritake, Howard Miller, Phillips/Magnavox, Sony, and many more. New manufacturers are being added to the program monthly.

Special Order -- Feature Manufacturer Of The Month
Every month VCS selects one or two new or existing manufacturers that are featured in the Special Order Center located at each canteen. All items offered in the Special Order Center offer excellent value to our customers with no extra charges for shipping and handling. See your canteen retail store to order these and other great Special Order values!

Barber & Beautician Services
Most VA medical centers provide barber services, some have barber/beauty shops. Many smaller facilities that do not have barber shops have ward service available for patient haircuts.

Floral Services
VCS operates wire flower service with two contract vendors. Teleflora Flower Service and Phillips Flower Service. Ordering flowers from all canteens is possible for shipping anywhere in the United States.

Laundry & Dry Cleaning Services
At many VA locations, laundry and dry cleaning services are available for eligible customers.

Concessionaire Sales
VCS has many national concessionaire agreements with vendors that are contracted to hold two-day sales events throughout the year. They include unique products that are not normally stocked in our stores. An example of some of the products sold at these sales are: Computer Generated Personalized Books; Book Fairs; Fine 10 and 14 KT Gold Jewelry Sales; and Paintings/Prints. The canteen chiefs also have many local vendors visit their stores and hold sales on local specialty items.

Sprint Prepaid Calling Cards
VCS sells Sprint Prepaid Calling Cards, available at discounted prices for as little as 5 cents per minute. These products make excellent gifts for anyone ( college or high schools students, when traveling, everyday use from home or away from home, for emergencies, etc.)