“The Department’s added investment in our budget allows us to reduce commissary prices at the register about 3-5 percent on most items – particularly on food staples that struggling military families need most such as bread, eggs, milk and more,” said Bill Moore, director and CEO of the Defense Commissary Agency. “With this boost we can achieve at least 25 percent in overall savings for eligible patrons who shop their commissaries.”
Commissary customers are expected to see price changes at most locations by mid-October. Pricing on some products and categories will vary.
Before the additional funding, DeCA was able to provide service members and their families with discounted groceries that cost on average 22 percent less than civilian grocery stores for fiscal year 2022.
“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 said.
“In addition to the savings, we provide healthy food options, clean and safe stores, convenience and premier customer service for our service members and their families,” Moore said. “Commissaries are there when our military families need them most, even in disasters or pandemics or periods of inflation. We’re an insurance policy to ensure food security for our military families. With all that value and now additional savings, our patrons would be very smart to shop their commissaries.”
“Taking Care of Service Members and Families” aligns with DOD’s overall campaign for economic security, first announced November 2021 when the Department unveiled its “Military Leader’s Economic Security Toolkit” on Military OneSource. The webpage is a central landing spot to help leaders connect service members and their families with resources they need to help boost their economic readiness.
“The commissary system’s commitment to saving military communities money has not wavered for over 30 years,” Moore said. “We remain steadfast in our efforts to improve the quality of life of our eligible patrons by saving them at least a quarter on every dollar they spend on groceries compared to ‘outside the gate’ grocery stores. That’s $50 back in your pocket on a $200 grocery bill!
“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,” he added.
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