Shop At The Commissary, Shape Up Your Food Bills
By Bailey Toombs
Fall 2008
Prices are rising all around us, matched only by our increasing frustration as we search for ways to stretch our hard-earned dollars. Fortunately, military families can fight back with a big advantage: the commissary.
Commissaries provide relatively low prices because, by law, they are required to sell their products at cost plus a five percent surcharge. (This small markup is used to pay for commissary construction, equipment and maintenance; it is not profit.) According to the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), a regular commissary shopper can save 30 percent or more on groceries compared to a commercial grocery store for the same array of items – roughly $3,000 in annual savings for a family of four.
Since 2003, members of the National Guard and Reserve and their authorized family members have enjoyed unlimited commissary access, but many Guard and Reserve units are located too far away to take advantage of the benefit. So DeCA is reaching out to remote military communities through its “Bringing the Benefit to You” campaign that takes a bit of the commissary to units through onsite truckload case-lot sales. A full program schedule may be found at the DeCA website (www.commissaries.com).
Another option is the Virtual Commissary, where users can purchase a variety of products at low commissary prices with the click of a mouse. The website is easy to use (find the Shopping link at www.commissaries.com), and its pre-made gift baskets and care packages are welcome time savers for those with a deployed loved one.
Combine smart shopping with low commissary prices and save even more money! Try these 10 suggestions for stretching your food dollars from the
1. Stick to a list. A shopping list will help you plan ahead for your needs, take advantage of sale prices and avoid impulse purchases. If you do make discretionary purchases, write them down on your list as you go; this will help you visualize your extra purchases and decide what is really necessary.
2. Go alone after a meal. If you shop with another person or while you’re hungry, you're shopping for more than one appetite. The result is always increased spending.
3. Use coupons. Check your mailbox, the Sunday newspaper and store flyers, because the commissary accepts coupons the same as your local grocery store. It will even accept Internet coupons printed at home provided the coupons include "dot-scan" bars below expiration dates or barcodes with product identification numbers (PINs). Check www.coupons.com, www.smartsource.com, www.coolsavings.com and www.boodle.com. (If you’re not interested in clipping coupons for yourself, consider the Overseas Coupon Program at www.ocpnet.org, which allows individuals and groups to collect and donate coupons to an adopted overseas installation.)
4. Check your cupboards. It’s easy to add items to your grocery cart because you forgot you already have them. Knowing what you have in stock before you start shopping can help avoid waste.
5. Use cash, not credit. Nothing impacts the mind quite like taking cash from our own wallet or purse and handing it to a cashier. Using credit tends to increase the amount you spend; paying cash helps you think ahead.
6. Look up, look down. The most popular and expensive items in an aisle are often placed on the shelves between waist and shoulder level. Less expensive brands usually show up on the top or bottom shelves. Check to make sure you're not missing out on something just because it's hard to see.
7. Plan meals in advance. Consider buying regular food items in larger quantities to use as leftovers. Many meat items, for example, can be frozen and used later if you catch a great sale.
8. Avoid prepackaged items. Making food from scratch takes a little more time, but it is often cheaper to buy the ingredients separately. It’s probably healthier, too!
9. Check the checker. Note the prices as you select items and make sure the same price is scanned at checkout. Check the register tape after leaving the store. Errors often are uncovered, especially with sale prices listed in the store but not reflected at checkout. DeCA’s policy states that it will honor a product’s posted price. If an incorrect lower price is displayed, the patron pays only the displayed price.
10. Take the commissary to college. DeCA’s “Scholarships for Military Children” program, funded through the generosity of manufacturers and suppliers whose products are sold at commissaries worldwide, awards at least one $1,500 scholarship at every commissary location that receives qualified applications. The scholarship provides for payment of tuition, books, lab fees and other related expenses.
The military offers its members and their families many benefits that are often overlooked. In a time when prices are on the rise and family budgets are tight, the commissary can help. Visit yours today, and start saving!
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Bailey Toombs is a public relations associate at the National Military Family Association (www.mnfa.org).