The new director for the Defense Commissary Agency, DeCA, is planning changes to the commissary to widen its use and service to military members, retirees, and their families. John Hall took over as the new director and chief executive officer for DeCA in June of 2023. Hall stated at that time, “As a career logistician, I appreciate the commissary benefit’s impact on the quality of life of our service members and their families. Commissaries help sustain our military communities by providing food security through significant savings, healthy food options, clean and safe stores, convenience and premier customer service.” Hall was previously the Army Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, managing a logistics budget of $10 billion annually.

Increase Sales

Hall stated further that the goal was to increase sales at the commissary. These increased sales, in turn, allow for lower prices with the commissary model. The commissary currently receives about $1.2 billion in funding from the Department of Defense, and the 5% surcharge charged to customers is to cover the cost of construction, maintenance, and equipment in the stores. These maintenance costs go toward repairs to the commissary and food replacement after power outages due to hurricanes and typhoons; they also cover repairs to dated air-conditioning units. Hall is considering increasing the surcharge to balance out the need for more maintenance instead of asking Congress for more money.

Click2Go Changes

The Click2Go website allows patrons to place a commissary grocery order for pick-up or delivery. But the website is cumbersome to use and not user-friendly. Especially at a time when many families are used to placing grocery or pick-up orders at other local stores through easier applications, the website may be a deterrent for those Commissary locations using Click2Go. Per DeCA, about 1% of their sales are through the online service, while the industry average is about 10%. DeCA must address the online system to make it user-friendly and increase its use.

Sharing Shopping Eligibility

In 2020, the shopping eligibility expanded to include disabled veterans, but there is still a lack of understanding in that population that they have the ability. Per a Military.com article, Marine Sgt Major Michael Saucedo said that 99% of disabled veterans at a Veterans of Foreign Wars conference were unaware of the benefit. Any service-connected disability counts, with any level percentage, and the commissary benefit extends for their lifetime.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is working with these eligible patrons to provide them a Veteran Health Identification Card, allowing base and commissary access to utilize these benefits.

New Features

The Commissary is expanding its hours, increasing savings, and improving the quality of its products. Hall states he is working on providing prepared meal options to eligible patrons to compete with the civilian stores.

Hall states, “This is all about the customer.” If a patron desires a specific item, Hall wants to encourage patrons to ask about getting the item at the commissary – chances are if one patron wants it, another may also be looking for it.

What kind of features or changes would you want at your Commissary?

DALLAS – The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is committed to setting the standard for sustainability beyond just Earth Day. With multiple sustainability initiatives, the Exchange directly improves the quality of life in the military communities it serves.

“The Exchange is committed to providing a sustainable working and living environment for Soldiers, Airmen, Guardians and their families.” said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Osby, the Exchange’s senior enlisted advisor. “The Exchange’s sustainability goals directly improve the quality of life in our military communities, ensuring a clean and safe future wherever Warfighters serve.”

The Exchange’s in-store and real estate sustainability initiatives include:

• Recycling more than 7,000 tons of plastic, aluminum and cardboard annually.
• Collaborating with Department of Defense to implement and maintain electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on CONUS installations, assisting with the conversion of federal fleet vehicles to EVs before 2030.
• Replacing 455,000 fluorescent lamps in more than 160,000 fixtures with efficient tubular LEDs or TLEDs at 610 CONUS facilities. This effort yielded a 56% reduction in consumption daily, more than 50 million kilowatt-hours annually and more than $2.4 million in cost savings annually.
• Installing efficient low-flow faucets in food courts during renovations and new construction, resulting in 30% in water savings annually.
• Designing and building stores to globally accepted standards such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards.
• Offering shoppers a 5-cent-per-bag credit for using reusable shopping bags, each of which can replace up to 250 single-use plastic bags throughout its lifespan.
• Reusing apparel hangers to minimize waste.

The Exchange partners with suppliers to offer more environmentally friendly products at PXs, BXs and ShopMyExchange.com, including:

• Sustainable apparel that includes recycled materials or uses less water in production from brands including Levi’s, Columbia, The North Face, Damsel Swim, O’Neill and Quiksilver.
• Eco-friendly, cruelty-free cosmetics and skincare products, including vegan and biodegradable options, from brands such as Almay, bareMinerals, Bravo Sierra, EcoTools and Farmacy.
• High-efficiency Energy Star products, which include 50% of all major appliances, 100% of televisions and 93% of computers.
• Energy-efficient LED lamps, bulbs and smart lighting.
• Laundry detergents for use with high-efficiency washing machines.
• Eco-friendly and biodegradable cleaning supplies from brands such as 9 Elements, Lysol, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day, Seventh Generation and Symtek.

The Exchange’s global logistics operation, which includes nine distribution centers worldwide and the 13th-largest private retail fleet in the U.S, is also committed to reducing its environmental impact. Logistics sustainability efforts include:

• Recycling 280 gallons of oil, 1,100 tires and 300 batteries annually.
• Using self-inflating tire systems on trucks to increase miles per gallon.
• Installing trailer skirts and aluminum wheels to improve aerodynamics and reduce weight.
• Replacing aging trucks with new model units fitted with fuel-saving features such as automatic transmissions, adaptive cruise control and optimized idle.

These efforts not only reduce the Exchange’s environmental impact, but also save money and resources which are reinvested into military communities. In the last 10 years, more than $3.5 billion in earnings have been provided for critical military quality of life programs, aided directly by the Exchange’s ongoing sustainability efforts.

Social media-friendly version: The Exchange makes every day Earth Day with sustainability initiatives, setting the standard for exceptional environmental stewardship wherever service members go. Read more: https://wp.me/p9Q7PG-2nS

– 30 –

Since 1895, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange) has gone where Soldiers, Airmen, Guardians and their families go to improve the quality of their lives by providing valued goods and services at exclusive military pricing. The Exchange is the 54^th-largest retailer in the United States. 100% of Exchange earnings support military communities. In the last 10 years, your Exchange benefit has provided $3.4 billion in earnings for critical military Quality-of-Life programs. The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the Department of Defense and is directed by a Board of Directors. The Exchange is a 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Partner, planning and conducting events and activities that recognize the service, valor and sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans and their families in conjunction with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration. To find out more about the Exchange history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our website at http://www.shopmyexchange.com or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ExchangePAO.

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NEWS RELEASE

Defense Commissary Agency

Corporate Communications

1300 E Avenue, Fort Lee, VA 23801-1800

Tel:  (804) 734-8000, Ext. 8-6105  DSN: 687-8000, Ext. 8-6105 

FAX: (804) 734-8248  DSN: 687-8248

www.commissaries.com

Release Number:        05-23                                                                                                                        

Date:                              January 19, 2023

Media Contact:           Kevin L. Robinson, public affairs specialist

Tel.:                               (804) 734-8000, Ext. 4-8773

E-mail:                         kevin.robinson@deca.mil

Fit for 2023

Your commissary offers nutritious choices, quick meal solutions, wellness resources to align with your fitness goals

By Kathy Milley,

DeCA public affairs specialist

Facebook-friendly version: Feeling like you’re up to your chin in sugar cookies and extravagant holiday feasts? Ready to climb out of the snack wagon? Well January’s here and we suddenly start making impossible demands of ourselves. In order to stay true to our resolutions, say longer than a month, we need to keep it easy. Your commissary is the simple solution to help you recover from the holidays and stick with it until the next holiday season. To read the rest of the story on the DeCA website, click here. To download a DeCA graphic on DVIDS, click here. To download a USDA graphic, click here.

FORT LEE, Va. – Feeling like you’re up to your chin in sugar cookies and extravagant holiday feasts? Ready to climb out of the snack wagon? Well January’s here and we suddenly start making impossible demands of ourselves. In order to stay true to our resolutions, say longer than a month, we need to keep it easy.

Your commissary is the simple solution to help you recover from the holidays and stick with it until the next holiday season. That’s the message from Deborah Harris, the Defense Commissary Agency’s dietitian and health and wellness program manager. She holds a master of Public Health degree and is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist.

When committing to a healthier lifestyle and wellness goals, Harris says the commissary strives to keep patrons motivated by offering the following easily identifiable high-performance foods and easy-to-use, quick meal solutions and wellness resources:

• Dietitian-Approved Thumb (DAT): The “Thumbs Up Dietitian-Approved” tags on shelves makes it easy for patrons to quickly identify high-nutrition, quality foods to incorporate into a healthy eating pattern. DAT uses unique software that analyzes and identifies products in most of the commissary food categories based on up to 86 of the FDA-defined health attributes. These attributes can drive better shopping selections throughout the store by calling out items with limited added sugar, sodium and unhealthy fat while offering whole grains, healthy fats, fiber or lean protein as well as identify items that qualify as USDA Organic. Once these products are identified, they are labeled on the commissary shelves with a “Thumbs Up Dietitian-Approved” tag.
• “Thinking Outside the Box” recipes: Preparing nutritious food at home does not have to be difficult or expensive. With “Thinking Outside the Box” recipes, your commissary continually offers meal solutions that are quick, healthy and economical with ingredients typically offered at enhanced savings to our customers. The recipes are always accessible on commissaries.com under the “Healthy Living” tab. This library features quick and easy, dietitian-approved recipes for appetizers, entrees, salads, side dishes and even desserts.
• Commissary CLICK2GO: Use Commissary CLICK2GO, the commissary’s online ordering service, to instantly add the ingredients of your favorite dietitian-approved recipe to your virtual grocery cart. When doing your Commissary CLICK2GO ordering on Commissaries.com, click on the Recipe link, select the recipe you would like to add to your meal plan for the week and simply click the “Add to Cart” button beside each of the ingredients you need to prepare the meal. Preparing nutritious food at home has never been easier.
• Mobile App: Download DeCA’s new mobile app to access the commissary’s website programs like Commissary CLICK2GO online payment and curbside pickup, digital coupons, the sales flyer, dietitian-approved recipes, healthy living resources and much more. The mobile app is free for download through the Google Play and IOS app stores, offering our patrons more convenience and flexibility when using their commissary benefit – wherever they are.
• Fueling stations: The Dietitian-Approved Fueling Stations, located near the front-end checkout aisles in over 170 commissaries, offer tasty, nutritious meals and snacks to give patrons the convenience they need without the high-calories or high-cost of a fast food restaurant meal. Customers can expect to see products that offer protein, healthy fat, complex carbohydrates and a low-calorie form of hydration like low-calorie flavored waters and sports drinks, deli sandwiches, single-serving hummus, ready-to-eat lean protein, fruits and cheese, no-added-sugar yogurts, low-sugar protein bars, or prepared sliced fruits and salads.
• Quick home-cooked meals: Lack of time shouldn’t prevent patrons from preparing nutritious home-cooked meals. DeCA has prepared a list of no-fuss entrées chosen from the many dietitian-approved “Thinking Outside the Box” recipes featured on commissaries.com. The list is designed to minimize preparation time with quick and easy meal solutions featuring ingredients that will save money at the commissary. It features links to quick-prep recipes using a slow cooker, microwave or pressure cooker; make-ahead freezer meals; and one-skillet meals and entrees using prepared protein like rotisserie chicken and canned tuna.
• Meal planning: To take the work out of meal planning, DeCA has created two dietitian-approved dinner menu plans including weekly shopping lists, each for an entire month of family meals. These monthly menu plans are available on commissaries.com at these links: Meal Plan #1 and Meal Plan #2. Choose your preferred plan and simply print off the shopping list for the week, add breakfast and lunch items and your shopping list is ready. You will have everything you need for the week. If you would like to create your own menu plan tailoring it to your family’s preferences, use our easy-to-follow planning aids, the Dietitian-Approved Menu Planner and the Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet.

“We offer our patrons easy solutions to maintain a nutritious diet,” said Bonita Moffett, DeCA’s sales director. “We work diligently to provide the right mix of products and resources to support their wellness objectives all while saving big at the checkout. Using these commissary resources will make their New Year’s resolutions something they can stick to.”

-DeCA-

Don’t discount your grocery store as a place to buy gifts. Especially stocking stuffers! There are so many treats for family members of all ages. The military commissary, with its unique selection from produce to the well-stocked international aisle, will help you fill your stockings, all while you are doing your grocery shopping.  

1. – Chocolates – From dark to milk chocolate, or shaped chocolates in Nutcrackers or oranges, there are many options to choose from.
2. – Hot chocolate – these will be used throughout the winter months, so fun to have on hand
3. – Gum – whether you are traveling over the mountains and through the woods and will need something to pop your ears, grab some gum. Just remember, this isn’t for small children.
4. – Jams and Jellies – from your typical favorites to unique holiday ones like fig, hot pepper, or Meyer lemon jams and jellies
5. – Spice mixes – the international aisle has a bounty of spice mixes. Try a curry mix or even an enchilada spice mix. It is a fun way to explore new flavors while gifting to your family and friends.
6. – Jarred specialties – Roasted Red Pepper, sun-dried tomatoes
7. – Dip Mix – If your family or friend loves ranch dip or fried onion mix, grab some to put in the stocking!
8. – Pretzels
9. – Trail Mix
10. – Baking mixes – consider Yorkshire pudding or schnitzel mix from the international aisle.
11. – Sunflower Seeds
12. – Unique candies – Check out the holiday endcaps for holiday candies from around the world or specialty candies. Shaped peanut butter cups or animal-shaped marzipans are fun and wonderful treats to behold in the stocking.
13. – Canned juices – Canned means it won’t break if someone grabs the stocking quickly and is shelf stable, so it won’t spoil over time. Mango juice or pineapple-orange juice is fun, and you can drink the morning of while enjoying the holiday fun!
14. – Popcorn
15. – Popcorn seasonings
16. – Dried fruit – mango, papaya, figs, pineapple, and so many more.
17. – Nuts – salted or coated in sugar or honey; these protein power snacks come in bags, canisters, or even small tins.
18. – Jerky – spicy, or traditional, beef or turkey – these shelf-stable snacks are great for throughout the year.
19. – Coffee
20. – Tea
21. – Electric toothbrush – the grocery store isn’t just for foodstuffs, and an electric toothbrush can entice and encourage young children into brushing their teeth.
22. – Facial mask – a fun nod to a spa day at home, and who couldn’t use a spa moment after the busy schedules of the holidays
23. – Don’t forget an orange!

Get your grocery shopping AND some holiday shopping done at once. Yup! All about the multi-tasking errand while providing nutritious and fun treats for the stocking. Better yet

Pocketbooks and bank accounts world-wide have felt the increase in the cost of living. Groceries are not immune to this increase in cost. The DOD announced an initiative to support military families in many ways to aid in the financial impact of inflation. The Defense Commissary Agency, DeCA, has announced its plan to help lower grocery bills for military members shopping at the military commissary.

The goal of DeCA is to provide at least 25% in overall savings as compared to other grocery stores for those eligible to shop at the commissaries with the additional funding. “The department’s added investment in our budget allows us to reduce commissary prices at the register about 3-5% on most items — particularly on food staples that struggling military families need most such as bread, eggs, milk and more,” Bill Moore, director and CEO of the Defense Commissary Agency, said.

The price differences are expected to hit before the holidays. Per ABC7LA, the cost of Thanksgiving meal will increase significantly this year, so a plan for savings before the holidays will help keep the cost of this traditional meal down. Per ABC7LA, the cost of frozen turkeys is up 32% in 2022 as compared to 2021, and butter and eggs prices are up more than 30%, with potatoes, sugar, and bakery products up 15%-17%.

The commissary specifically highlights three areas to assist in their “We’re Stronger Together” program:

1. Promotion sales with bi-weekly flyers
2. Better prices on popular and core items
3. Healthy options with dietitian-approved recipes, meal plans and economical meal options

In addition, the commissary is rolling out new initiatives to provide increased availability to its patrons:

1. Expanded hours of operation. It is noted that 56 stores have converted from six-day operation to seven-day operation, and seven stores moved from a five-day operation schedule to six-day operation schedule. In addition, 43 stores adjusted their hours per the community preferences.
2. Working with military installations to pilot a bulk delivery program to barracks
3. Expand online and curbside pickup grocery options
4. Expand the grocery delivery program from the piloted 8 locations to the DeCA-wide

Twenty-five percent isn’t anything to laugh at. With grocery bills averaging $200-$300 per trip, that’s $50 to $75 in savings. That’s about 5 military-style haircuts! Savings in one area of the budget is a savings overall.

FORT LEE, Va. – Once upon a time, a number of commissaries had small branch stores that allowed customers to conveniently phone in their orders, drive up to that facility and pick up their groceries.

It wasn’t quite Commissary CLICK2GO, but it was a precursor of things to come.

“When you look back into the history of military commissaries it’s amazing to see the roots of services like the curbside pickup we’re offering today,” said Marine Sgt. Maj. Michael R. Saucedo, senior enlisted advisor to the Defense Commissary Agency director. “It’s a testament to the fact that a good idea doesn’t have a shelf life.” 

So, what’s the story about commissaries and their drive-up branch stores?

The number of commissaries grew during and after World War II, but not nearly fast enough to keep up with the number of military bases or the military family population. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, most commissaries still remained low on the priority list for funds for renovations and new facility construction. 

This funding shortage forced most bases to “make do” with whatever facilities they already had. One common solution was to create a store annex or a branch store. These smaller operations allowed customers to quickly run in and pick up a few items such as bread, milk and paper towels.

The Troop Support Agency, the organization that managed Army commissaries, called these stores “Mini Coms” and the Air Force Commissary Service dubbed theirs “Wee Serve,” which reflected on their motto “We Serve Where You Serve.”

Sometimes these annexes were established as separate “neighborhood stores.” In some instances, the branch operations were separate areas within the main store building, but were walled off from the rest of the store. They kept different hours than the main store and were accessed by separate entrances. 

Several of these branch stores allowed customers to call in their order over the phone, select a time to pick their groceries up and have them brought out to their car when they arrived. Although most annexes and branches were walk-in stores, a few had a window service that turned them into “drive-ins” – also known as “drive-throughs” or “drive-thrus.”

Most of the branch stores with drive-up service were open longer hours to serve customers later in the evening or early in the morning before the regular commissary opened.

The drive-in made possible incredibly quick shopping trips, during which the customer never left the vehicle. A customer could purchase a half-dozen items and be on his or her way in a matter of minutes. Such was the case at Port Hueneme, California, in 1961. The drive-in annex was attached to the main store, but it reduced congestion in the main store and in the parking lot by enabling customers to shop without getting out of their cars.

Some stores used the drive-in concept exclusively for parcel pick-up. This was especially popular at locations where there were not enough baggers to carry every customer’s purchases to their cars. Customers would walk through the store as usual, selecting items, but at the register their groceries would be tagged with a number, and when the customer drove up to the pick-up window, he would present a matching claim ticket to the attendant. Some stores, such as the main store at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1965, provided a roof or a partial overhang for the parcel pick-up area.

Yesterday’s branch store call-in and pickup operations have evolved into today’s Commissary CLICK2GO.

“Our online ordering-curbside pick program makes shopping fun with features offering helpful product details, a robust selection of recipes, featured sales and promotions and now you can even pay online,” Saucedo said. “You arrive at your commissary and we’ll get your groceries loaded and off you go. It’s as easy as that.”

DeCA’s evolution of convenience continues with its testing of a delivery service at eight stateside installations that began June 1 and ends Aug. 30. The service allows patrons within a 20-mile radius of the participating commissary to order groceries online via Commissary CLICK2GO, and have them delivered to their front door. The test period is one of the tools the agency is using to determine future expansion of Commissary CLICK2GO delivery.

-DeCA-

NOTE: Portions of this article came from “The Illustrated History of American Military Commissaries” by Dr. Peter Skirbunt, former DeCA historian

The military commissary began in 1825 as a place to purchase goods at Army posts, paying at-cost pricing. Initially, the commissary was open only to active-duty military, and then in 1841, it opened to family members as well. The goal of the commissaries was to provide nutritious food no matter where the military was located – from near a city to the frontier away from the developed areas. A commissary was at every Army post, no matter the location. This included expanding to the Philippines and China in the early 1900s.

The Defense Department commissioned a study in 1989 that recommended the consolidation of the different military service branches’ commissary systems into one and in 1990 the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) was established. The commissaries of today continue to provide groceries and products to military families at a lower costs. Congress has mandated a 5-percent surcharge on the items to cover the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing and updating current ones.

When living in areas of a high cost of living, and in overseas locations where it may be difficult to get familiar groceries, the military commissaries have relied upon resources. The savings of groceries including no sales tax can save families lots of money. In a time when the cost of living is increasing all around the world, every little bit helps.

The patron list has historically included active-duty members and their families and expanded to include military retirees and their families in 1879.  Now that COVID-19 restrictions have lessened, the patron groups are open to disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war and their certified primary caregivers.