Military Life News

Military Life News, Commissary Rewards and Military Discounts

Commissary Surcharge Dollars Fund New Facilities

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There are new and improved commissaries on the way, thanks to shoppers like you.

Your commissary surcharge dollars are hard at work providing the funds needed to build new infrastructure and modernize facilities to provide a better shopping experience for military beneficiaries around the world.

Did you know what the surcharge at the bottom of your receipt is for and the power that it carried for improvements?

The commissary surcharge is not a tax. Many people mistakenly think so, but unlike taxes where money could be distributed in many areas, the commissary surcharge can only be used to build new commissaries or to modernize and maintain the commissary facilities and equipment. Each time you make a purchase at your local commissary, feel good knowing that surcharge will lead to real improvements beneficiaries such as yourself can see in the future.

All commissaries charge a 5 percent surcharge. Perhaps you never noticed the surcharge at the bottom of your receipt. It isn’t something new. In fact, the first surcharge was put into place all the way back in 1879. It varied a bit over time but in 1983 it was set at 5 percent, and remains that way today.

Why do we have to pay a surcharge though?

The government decided that the commissary should be more self-sufficient, and rely less on it for funds. The commissary therefore charges consumers only the cost of the product it sells plus the 5 percent surcharge in order to cover the cost of maintaining and updating their equipment and facilities. Their research has shown that military beneficiaries that shop at the commissary save on average 30 percent over using a commercial grocery store. This takes into account the cost of items and the 5 percent surcharge.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Defense Commissary Agency as well as the 150th anniversary of the commissary benefit. It all began on July 1, 1867, when service members stationed across the country were able to buy food at cost for the first time.

The long tradition continues and a great way to celebrate these landmarks is with a new commissary or better yet – 3.

There are 3 commissaries slated to open this year beginning with Spangdahlem Air Base commissary in Germany this month at a cost of $26 million. Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., will open its doors to shoppers this summer thanks to $36 million in surcharge dollars. The Fort Belvoir commissary in Virginia is expected to open early next year after spending $38 million. All of these commissaries were built using surcharge dollars.

Construction began in March of 2014 on the commissary at Spangdahlem Air Base. The 7,500 service members, civilians and family members at this mobility hub in the country’s Eifel region will be in for a treat after a long awaited grand opening of their 54,000-square-foot commissary.

There are significant improvements over the current store, which opened in 1985. More space has been added, the aisles are wider, it has been outfitted with modern décor and a larger selection of items will be offered. The number of checkout counters will increase from the current 8 to 13.

Naval Air Station Jacksonville is putting commissary surcharge dollars to good use with a 115,000-square-foot commissary, up from its current 88,000 square feet. This includes a covered drive through for patrons to use when picking up groceries ordered online.

It will also have a raised ceiling, wider aisles, an expanded chill and frozen section and the décor will be modernized. The seafood shop will be larger and the bakery and deli area will be expanded allowing for new items to be sold. This again is all thanks to commissary surcharge dollars.

I am most excited about the $28 million commissary coming to Fort Belvoir. In recent years, Ft. Belvoir has grown by 115,000 people. This new commissary will be able to accommodate the growing population.

The commissary will be constructed to LEED Silver standards, meaning it would utilize sustainable strategies such as using innovative energy conserving techniques. This upgraded facility will offer a wider range of products in a modern setting that is more family friendly with wider aisles and easier access.

There are many great upgrades coming to commissaries across the globe thanks to commissary surcharge dollars.

Have you noticed any changes at a commissary near you? What upgrades would you like to see?

Commissary Employees Remember to Wear Red

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Military members are still deploying.

Despite the formal end of combat missions in the Middle East 2 years ago, it didn’t end deployments for service members. There is an ongoing American presence there. In addition, service members are receiving deployment orders to other locales.

Because deployments are something that military families face regularly, the commissary employees wanted to remember those service members. If you like the Defense Commissary Agency’s (DeCA) Facebook page, you might have noticed the pictures of commissary employees wearing red on your news feed.

The commissary started posting pictures of employees wearing red on Fridays in January this year.

They have shared images from DeCA’s headquarters in Fort Lee to Fort Hood and even OCONUS in Kadena Air Base to name a few. The first commissary DeCA featured on the Facebook page was Camp Zama. Using the hashtag “#supportourtroops,” the commissary regularly shows employees standing in solidarity for our men and women in uniform (and sometimes posing with some in uniform!).

Why do the commissary employees wear red on Fridays?

Well, red is actually an acronym. It spells out Remember Everyone Deployed (R.E.D.) and the connection to the color red was a natural fit. The two messages join together and is easy to digest when you’re sharing its message with those around you.

In the midst of rigorous deployment cycles about 10 years ago, that’s when R.E.D. Fridays came about.

The reasoning to wear red on Fridays is fuzzy though. As I was researching, I found several different stories of the origin.

According to the Soldier’s Angels website, the R.E.D. Friday movement began as an email chain letter in 2005. It asked Americans that supported our troops to rally together and wear red on Fridays. It would serve as a statement to the American public and service members showing that they are supported.

The Soldier’s Angels website continues to say that there is a connection to R.E.D. Friday in Canada as well. When I realized I had a run for my money with the origin, I enlisted the help of my husband to see if we can pinpoint conception together.

Alas, we couldn’t nail down specifics, just lots of stories.

He found some notes stating that Family Readiness Groups (FRGs) might have started the trend. Also, there is an organization called Red Shirt Fridays that took the idea of wearing red shirts on Fridays into a bigger initiative.

What it comes down to is that despite being able to be specific about the start of the movement the idea itself stuck and stood the test of time. Service members are the focus of the initiative and that very important message never got lost.

R.E.D. Friday is a way for military families and supporters (like the commissary employees) to stand with those that are away due to service on a specific day. Whatever the actual reason was to pick Friday, it doesn’t matter as much as the message that it conveys (remember everyone deployed).

Now, not only does the commissary participate in the R.E.D. Friday initiative, I hear about it getting passed along at my current duty station and beyond. Also, schools and other communities are reporting that they are wearing red on Fridays.

I like that there is a message out there that calls out the sacrifice of deployment and shows service members our support.

Do the employees at your military commissary wear red on Fridays? Share a photo of them showing their support for the troops on the MilitaryShoppers’ Facebook page.

Spring Case Lot Sales Are Happening!

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Have you been waiting with bated breath for the spring Customer Appreciation Case Lot Sales?  Good news!  They’re here and as most of our fellow military families know very well, now’s the time to

Stock Up and Save!

This spring is no different, if you’re looking to load up on great items at great prices, the National Case Lot Sales event at your local Commissary is the place to do it.  This year, the Defense Commissary Agency is hosting a Customer Appreciation Case Lot Sale at each Commissary nationwide, including those in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. With savings at a maximum, Case Lot Sales are widely anticipated.

When is the Case Lot Sale?

Visit the Case Lot Sale store dates page for your local commissary sale dates.

What items will you see at a Case Lot Sale?

The Case Lot Sales offer items that you typically find at club stores, as well as individually packaged items that can be bought in bulk.  These sales are a great opportunity to stock up on a wide variety of pantry items at extremely discounted prices.  See DeCA’s list of product categories here.

What kind of savings can you expect?

Case Lot Sale commissary shoppers can bolster a savings of “up to 50%” according to DeCA’s Director of Sales, Tracie Russ.

Overseas?

Commissaries overseas will not be officially participating in Case Lot Sales, but commissary customers in Europe and the Pacific may benefit from similar style savings at  “sidewalk sales.”

Don’t miss out on your local commissaries Case Lot Sales! For additional information on the spring Customer Appreciation Case Lot Sales, please visit the DeCA website.

 

Customer Appreciation Case Lot Sale Items Spring 2016

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According to the Defense Commissary Agency:

Customers have a variety of options to choose from. Sale items include products in the following categories:

  • Fruit snacks, crackers, cereals, pastries, popcorn and potato chips
  • Water and flavored water, juices, juice mixes, sodas, sports drinks and milk
  • Frozen family meals
  • Pet supplies to include bagged and canned food, treats and cat litter
  • International foods such as Italian, Asian and Hispanic items
  • Cookies, brownies, pancakes and muffin mixes
  • Canned fruit and vegetables
  • Sandwich, storage and freezer bags; paper products and cleaning supplies such as bathroom tissue, fabric sheets and laundry detergent
  • Health and beauty care including diapers, wipes, soaps and body lotions

2016 Case Lot Sale Store Dates

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Don’t forget to check with your commissary for date changes or cancellations before you go. Case lot sales may be cancelled due to weather or other events beyond DeCA control.

Commissaries are not responsible for early sell out of items during case lot sales due to high customer volume or limited product availability.

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Commissary Spends Nearly $4 Million

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The government is constantly looking at ways to save money and each year the commissary budget comes into question. How can they cut the $1.4 billion commissary budget? Over the years many ideas have been presented, from privatizing the commissary to creating a private brand or even using variable pricing.

It has mostly just been a lot of talk.

The government has finally decided to do something more progressive and hired an outside firm to study ways to save money. These cost-cutting studies will cost the commissary nearly $4 million.

The Defense Authorization Act gave the DoD the responsibility of determining how to save the government money by cutting the commissary budget. The Department of Defense contracted Boston Consulting Group to conduct 2 studies in order to determine exactly how to cut the Defense Commissary Agency (DECA) budget. These two studies cost nearly $4 million and yes, that came out of the commissary budget.

The first study, which started in January 2015, has already been complete and cost $2.3 million. Its purpose was to determine any cost-cutting possibilities. Another contract, this time for $1.44 million, was also awarded to Boston Consulting Group and is already in progress. The goal of this study is to develop a way to compare civilian grocery prices with commissary prices to determine a baseline savings.

The Defense Commissary Agency says that customers save on average 30 percent compared to civilian grocery stores based on their own research. The government doesn’t want to just take their word for it however. Boston Consulting Group is now creating a methodology to determine price comparisons.

Will all of this research be worth the cost? It’s hard for the average consumer to see the justification in spending nearly $4 million of the commissary budget on researching how to save money.

The saying “you have to spend money to save money” comes to mind, but that’s a lot of money. What will the return on investment be? What will commissary patrons get out of this?

The second study isn’t complete yest, but the results of the first study are in. The Boston Consulting Group recommended ways to save money in the commissary budget by utilizing variable pricing and creating a private label of products. They also recommended consolidating all of the military exchange systems but that idea has already been turned down.

The Defense Authorization Act gave the Department of Defense the ability to test some of these money-saving options out, such as variable pricing. Variable pricing would mean pricing products differently across the country based off the price in the market. Products in the north typically cost more than some in the south. That means families in some parts of the country will be spending more on groceries than others.

Critics of variable pricing are quick to point out that military service members receive the same base pay no matter where they are stationed, with only basic housing allowance adjusting for location.

As the law currently stands, the commissary is only allowed to sell products at cost plus 5 percent surcharge. While Defense Authorization Act gives the commissary the ability to test variable pricing in areas, the law would have to be changed to implement it permanently.

The creation of a commissary private label was recommended as another option. Those opposed to the idea say that that might actually result in an increase in cost. Civilian grocery stores that have their own private label spend a large sum of money marketing their products to consumers. You have to build up a trust. As it stands, military families trust that the commissary offers quality products at cost plus a small surcharge.

What recommendations will the government take into consideration and when might patrons see changes?

That is yet to be determined, as the second study has not been completed yet. As most things with the government, this is a long drawn-out process.

Do you think these cost-cutting studies will help identify ways to operate the commissaries without taxpayer money?

Two Commissaries in Germany Will Close Their Doors This Spring

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In a never-ending drive by the government to cut the military budget, the Pentagon has proposed to cut the commissary budget for 2017 by $221 million. How would this budget reduction impact the every day consumer?

Commissaries will be closing. Not all commissaries; no need to panic. Stateside commissaries are safe for now. Those in Europe, on the other hand, are on the chopping block.

The first 2 commissaries slated to close are in Germany; they are the commissaries at Sembach and Illesheim.

In 2015, Sembach sales were $3.8 million and Illesheim was only a mere $2.5 million. Both of these commissaries have been in operation since the 1960s. They are small stores, with only 4 checkout lanes each. This puts them at the bottom third of commissary sales. There are 240 commissaries and these two just aren’t holding up to standards others are setting.

Officials are quick to say that closing these 2 commissaries isn’t a big deal for customers since they are within a 30-minute drive of 2 larger commissaries from Sembach and a 35-minute drive to the next commissary from Illesheim. Shoppers from Sembach could make that commute if they wanted to shop at Vogelweh or Ramstein Air Base. Those at Illesheim would have to drive to Ansbach for their next closest commissary.

A 30- or 35-minute commute might not sound like much to government officials in Washington, D.C., but it can be significant for families living abroad.

The commissary’s slogan, “it’s worth the drive,” might just take on a whole new meaning. This holds especially true for single service members who are use to just popping into their local commissary often.

If you are using either of these 2 commissaries as your main source for purchasing groceries, note that Sembach closes April 29. Illesheim’s commissary will close on March 31.

One good thing at least, there are sure to be great sales as they try to move inventory off the shelves.

Don’t make a sigh of relief yet if you’re stationed in Germany, but not near these 2 commissaries. There are more commissaries slated to close. The Defense Commissary Agency plans to meet budget cuts by consolidating down to one commissary per military community. Grafenwoehr and Kaiserslautern will be the only exceptions to this.

That means commissaries in Stuttgart will be part of the plan to close stores in Europe in 2016. Those at Patch, Kelley Barracks, Robinson Barracks and Panzer Kaserne will all see their final days this year.

A new commissary on Panzer is being built to compensate for this. Construction hasn’t begun yet and these commissaries will remain open until the new one is ready so you still have time to shop at your favorite commissary before the doors close for good.

The saying “you can never go back” keeps playing in my mind as I write this. I lived in Germany for 5 years. I truly will never be able to go back to Robinson Barracks where my family shopped regularly when we were stationed in Stuttgart. It’s a 20- to 30-minute drive from Robinson Barracks to Panzer for those that live in the area.

There is always a constant worry about losing military benefits and talk of commissary closures are a norm. This is one instance that rumors are true.

Hopefully families and service members that shop regularly at these commissaries will be able to adjust their routine grocery shopping trip accordingly knowing ahead of time that their stores are closing.

Are you concerned more commissaries will close? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section.

Military Commissary Food Stamps Use Drops

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The military community can utilize lots of wonderful programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is no different. It’s a food stamps program offering groceries to families in need, including any military families that are financially burdened.

It was reported that the commissaries saw a 6 percent drop of food stamps usage in 2015’s fiscal year!

Breaking it down per fiscal year from 2014 to 2015 in numbers, it went from $84.5 million to $79.5 million.

The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) shared more information in a SpouseBuzz report that evaluates the figures dating back to 2010. It shows increases in SNAP dollars used from 2010 to 2013, but then there has been a steady decline from 2013 on. SpouseBuzz indicates that a reduction in the food stamps benefit could be the culprit in the drop from 2013 to 2014. But, what is the reason for the continued decline?

It was also posed in the article that a number of factors could play a part of the food stamps decline and that the topic is open for discussion. The question I ask you is: what can we do about it?

My suggestion is that we could share the food stamps program to the military families around us. One of the factors mentioned is that perhaps, not a lot of new families knows about the food stamps benefit.

The United States Department of Agriculture even has a special military and veteran families webpage that evaluates the different food stamps programs. They also have a great quote on there that I wanted to share.

You served our country proudly and honorably, and we want to inform you that through our nutrition programs, you may be eligible for assistance to ensure you, your family and fellow veterans have the assistance to ensure you have nutritious meals.

So, check it out to see if it fits you or pass it along to other families in your community. Referring back to above, the SNAP food stamps program is what can be utilized at local commissaries. It’s easy to see if you qualify. All you need to do is follow the prompts on their Pre-Screening Eligibility Tool here.

Before you start the online tool, gather as many appropriate documents and information as you can like your earnings amount, rent/mortgage payments, outside expenses (daycare), applicable bills (utility, medial, etc.) and VA payments.

Keep in mind that the tool online isn’t an application and families must apply in person at a local SNAP office location. Each state operates a bit differently and with the tool, you might get directed to another page.

For example, I’m located in Virginia. When I said where I’m from, I get passed along to Virginia’s website. With that said, each state has their own application. Once you are pre-screened, find your state using this link to get started with the actual application process. There you can also find the nearest office to you to drop off all your appropriate paperwork within your state’s web page.

The SNAP page has another separate resource that finds local retailers that has the food stamps program. Using SNAP is easy and is operated the same way as a debit card. The card is used at authorized retailers. We know the commissary is one great retailer! One speculation of mine about why the commissary food stamps usage dropped is maybe military families are using different retailers.

Whatever the reason, we can’t forget about the SNAP food stamps program for military families. Together, we can pass along the resource and share with our military friends. We never know when a family is in need, so the best way to spread awareness is to talk about it.

Are you interested in SNAP? Has your family used the program before?

Proposed Changes to the Commissaries in 2016

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For the last 40 years the commissaries have been put on the chopping block only to come out strong.

Last year the Senate and House debated privatizing the commissaries over the next several years to save money. They wanted to cut the $1.3 billion annual Department of Defense subsidy for the commissary system. Luckily, this proposal didn’t make it through.

Don’t relax too much thinking the commissaries will be safe now. This year the politicians are at it again.

The House and Senate have come together on a new plan for the FY 2016 Defense Authorization Act. This consists of:

  • reducing the FY 2016 commissaries budget cut from $322 million to $30 million;
  • they scrapped the idea of privatizing the system and are now requiring a DoD plan to make the commissary and exchange benefit “budget neutral” by the end of 2018;
  • authorized DoD to conduct pilot programs to evaluate ways to achieve commissary and exchange budget neutrality; and
  • specified that these must maintain high levels of customer satisfaction, provide high-quality products, and sustain the current level of savings for customers.

What does this mean for the average shopper at their local commissaries? The most notable change would be prices. Some patrons would notice their prices going up while a select few might find them going down.

How could this be?

What lawmakers are considering here is variable pricing. Currently, prices are set at commissaries across the board. Under this change, commissaries would see price changes based on location.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., a brigadier general in the Army Reserves chairs an Armed Services subcommittee that lead the hearings recently on overhauling the stores. He says commissaries could improve how they sell products and become more efficient if they utilized a variable pricing method. Following commercial grocery stores strategies, prices would be set by the market.

For example, prices at commercial grocery stores are higher in New York then they are in Alabama. Just reading this proposal, Fort Drum patrons will be balking at the idea, whereas those at Maxwell AFB may be more open to it since they would be the ones possibly seeing the lower prices.

Heck hopes this plan will help get commissaries to a break-even plan. He says that they currently lose money on every sale.

If that doesn’t do the job, the other plan proposed is to create a commissary brand, much like commercial grocery stores have. Selling items under a Defense Commissary Agency label was part of a consultant lead study that was presented to Congress last fall. This is likely to be the main topic of discussion on the Hill this year.

The worry here for most people is that the quality of the products might not be the same as the commercial brands that are currently being sold at commissaries. The study claims that the products would be at the same level and patrons would still save money over local grocery stores. To match that quality however, there would likely be an increase in prices.

If either of these proposals get enough lawmakers to support it, they could be added to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is a huge bill that shapes military policies and takes most of the year to work through.

Will commissaries see changes this year or are they safe, at least for another year?

Only time will tell, but if the last 40 years of failed proposals to cut the DoD subsidy have a standing basis then maybe things won’t change.

Once the presidency changes, initiatives might as well. Everything is a big “if” for the moment and commissary patrons will be watching closely to see if one of the greatest nonpay benefits for service members will see a big change.

What do you think of these proposals to make changes to the commissaries?

Commissaries Set Recycling Record

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Did you know that every year the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) sets a recycling goal for commissaries around the globe?

Programs are in place to make sure that all commissaries reduce the amount of landfill waste by recycling appropriate items. It’s dependent on the management of each commissary location to work together to fulfill these goals.

DeCA announced that their commissaries achieved an 83 percent recycling efficiency rate in 2015 compared with 75 percent in 2012. Wondering what that equals in terms of tonnage?

It is 60,000 tons of cardboard, 1,900 tons of plastic and 108+ tons of paper. That is pretty awesome!

There are 245 commissaries worldwide, so you can imagine the amount of diligence it takes to implement change on that level. It’s evident how important is it to help the environment to DeCA because of the hard work they put in from the commissary level.

According to DeCA’s press release, they even had 7 commissaries achieve net zero status through their organic contracts. That means they were successful in turning their organic waste material into compost!

A big congrats goes to the Hawaii commissaries in Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hickam Air Force Base and Schofield Barracks. The other 2 commissaries that did net zero status are Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington and Los Angeles AFB in California.

DeCA doesn’t stop there. They have a food bank program that has been helping with their environmental efforts as well as making a local impact. More commissaries (from 110 to 134) participated in the food bank program than last year. As the commissaries rotate out food that is still edible, they were able to donate the items to more food banks (from 77 to 117!) than last year too. Their press release quoted the deputy director of DeCA’s logistics directorate, Randy Eller and he said,

Our food bank program resulted in just under 2.4 million pounds of food diverted from ending up in landfills and being used to feed the hungry.

I love his comparison in pounds. It puts things in perspective.

Your family can jump on the bandwagon and become efficient recyclers like the commissaries too! My husband and I try our best to recycle when we can.

Here are some small ways that helped us manage our disposables:

Separate!
We have separate receptacles for our paper and plastic items. Our housing area has large bins that we place our paper and plastic trash. Separating from the beginning helps us efficiently throw away what we don’t need anymore. Don’t forget to recycle your electronic goods. There can be some harmful material in old TVs and laptops. Also, batteries can be recycled too.

Reuse!
If we need a plastic bag at the grocery store, we save it for additional use. A great example is that we use the plastic to bag up litter from our cat. Also, we use the plastic bags to collect trash from our rooms too. Local commissaries also have plastic recycling bins. Before you start your shopping trip, you can drop off used bags there.

You can also go one up and utilize reusable bags for your grocery shopping! My hometown actually has a plastic bag ban. If you do want to use plastic bags, you pay a fee.

Buy Recycled!
There are goods out there that are made from recycled materials, so buy those items when you can. You can buy recycled paper, plastics and batteries (that’s why don’t forget to recycle them!).

Also, repurposing items are a great way to reduce waste. If you can’t repurpose, donate what you don’t need anymore because your trash can be a treasure for someone else (we’ve heard that before, right?).

See if your family can set a new record with your recycling this year!