Commissary to provide increased benefit, savings to shoppers

Your commissary benefit just got even better, thanks to additional funding the DoD is providing as part of its "Taking Care of Service Members and Families" initiative.

DoD recognizes that military members and families make significant sacrifices in support of our nation, and it is committed to doing right by them, including designing this program to offer them relief from financial challenges.

That's why one of the actions that Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III directed the Department to take as part of this initiative was to "Fully fund our commissaries to cut prices at the register, with the goal of achieving at least a 25-percent savings on grocery bills compared to the local marketplace."

"The Department of Defense has a sacred obligation to take care of our service members and families… [They] must be able to secure affordable basic needs. It is a matter of bedrock financial security and a critical individual readiness issue," Austin wrote in the memo instituting the initiative.

Commissaries were already able to save customers more than 22 percent worldwide, on average, compared to commercial grocery stores in fiscal year 2022; this additional funding will allow commissaries to lower prices further for at least a year, starting in mid-October, in response to rising inflation.

DeCA Director and CEO Bill Moore says that commissaries are working to maximize these extra savings as much as possible.

"Going forward with the Department's initiatives, we want to sustain the increased savings through fiscal year 2023 and exceed the 25 percent benchmark to the extent our resources allow," Moore explained.

Supporting the military community

While these additional savings are designed to limit the impact customers may feel from rising product costs, commissaries will continue to support service members and their families in other ways that align with this initiative and our mission to "deliver a vital benefit of the military pay system that provides grocery items at significant savings while enhancing quality of life and readiness."

You'll find information and resources related to this on our website's "We're Stronger Together" page, including:

• Current sales and promotions highlighted in our sales flyer, including our Pathway to Savings
• Digital manufacturer coupons that you can "clip" and redeem with your Commissary Rewards Card to help you save even more on your purchases
• A wide array of products offered from our Commissary Store Brands that offer both the quality and savings you deserve
• Dietitian-approved resources to make it easier for you to build healthier habits, including quick, economical "Thinking Outside The Box" meal solutions, grab-n-go fueling stations and the Dietitian Approved Thumb (DAT)

We continue to institute other innovative initiatives to boost the value of the commissary benefit for the military community, such as:

• Expanding hours of operation in many locations and leveraging technology to improve access and convenience
• Working with installations on piloting bulk deliveries to certain locations, such as barracks, with future plans to expand
• Growing our CLICK2GO e-commerce capabilities, with curbside pickup and online payment now available at all stores
• Piloting home grocery delivery at eight stateside locations, with the goal of offering this service at all stores soon thereafter

These initiatives, resources and additional savings are offered to all authorized commissary customers, including Veterans with a disability rating of 0% or more, and others who became eligible to shop at commissaries in January 2020. And we'll never stop working to build a better benefit for our customers.

"We are a food security resource for our customers, and as such, we are doing everything we can to get our precious military families the products they need-at the lowest price possible," Moore said.

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