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It is no secret that most of us remain under a personal and professional budget crunch where making the most of a dollar — or euro — is a must.
If you are like my wife and me, you will spend many hours discussing and/or planning how you are going to meet an ever-growing list of financial obligations in the family budget. With automatic bill pay, I simply subtract that bill called rent and other auto-pay items and move forward to considering the cost of groceries.
On many installations, commissaries have been established under congressional mandate to save military members and their families more than 30 percent annually on their grocery bill.
Of course, over the 150-plus years of the commissary’s existence, much has changed. Thankfully, gone are the times when a military member might find “beef tongue” or “pickled white fish” on the shelves.
Today, we have a robust product line offering national brand items we are all familiar with.
Additionally, many of the original horse stables, barns, riding halls and airplane hangars that once served as commissaries have been replaced with state of the art facilities, such as the new store in Ansbach, Germany. Impressed? It gets even better.
Recently, the Defense Commissary Agency — the agency established in October 1991 to provide commissary services to all branches of the military — launched its Commissary Rewards Card program. This program operates similar to a competitor’s club member program by granting additional savings to patrons via downloadable coupons. Not only can you benefit by using your card, but you can also take advantage of cost comparisons accomplished in your community that compare produce and meat prices against those in the local economy.
Furthermore, your commissary still accepts the good old American coupon, and when all of these factors are partnered with other in-store savings, you have the best shopping benefit found on the planet. For most people, this information seals the deal, but there’s more.
In Europe, DeCA employs more than 2,500 (60 percent with direct military affiliation) highly trained and skilled professionals who work in operations that include a central meat processing plant, Kaiserslautern cold storage facility, a central distribution center, and 39 stores in 10 countries.
Additionally, DeCA employs the latest available technologies in logistical concepts and business efficiencies that helped secure our 11th consecutive year with an unqualified opinion for financial statements. In accounting language, “unqualified opinion” means DeCA’s financial statements are fairly represented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles — one of only three agencies within the Department of Defense recognized as such. DeCA does it right and they do it for you!
The commissary will always be focused on providing you with the highest level of service for the greatest value available. Bottom line: It’s great for your checkbook. Your commissary — it’s worth the trip!
