Commissary and Smucker’s partner to serve thousands at Mission: Breakfast

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – More than 6,000 active-duty, Reserve, Guard, retired and veteran service members and their families from the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, community enjoyed a free morning meal May 7 during the 15th annual Mission: Breakfast event.

The annual J.M. Smucker Company’s Mission: Breakfast event challenges commissaries to participate in a friendly competition to build and create an in-store display highlighting Smucker’s product line. The Defense Commissary Agency’s (DeCA) JBSA-Lackland Commissary took top honors in building the most creative product display during the June 2023 contest promotional period and won the distinction of hosting this year’s event.

“An event like this is really a part of the benefit that service members and their families earn by serving our nation. We want to thank you all for being here today, being a part of this event, and enjoying the commissary benefit you’ve earned,” said John E. Hall, DeCA director and CEO.

The event was open to the JBSA-Lackland military community and featured a free catered breakfast of pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, biscuits, sausages, chicken products, juice and coffee, with live music, fun activities and free company products.

“We want to give back to our military personnel,” said Mark P. Smucker, J.M. Smucker Company president and CEO. “We want to say ‘thank you’ for all that they do for our country – protecting our country,” he said.

Military ties run deep for the Smucker Family. Smucker’s grandfather and former company CEO, Paul Smucker, spent two years in the Navy, as a lieutenant assigned to the USS Cassin Young in the South Pacific during World War II. Smucker’s father, Tim, chairman emeritus at The J.M. Smucker Company, attended basic training at Lackland in 1969. It was Tim Smucker who started the Mission: Breakfast concept 15 years ago as a way to recognize troops.

“This event is awesome; it is an expression of the Smucker’s family appreciation and gratitude to our troops,” said Air Force Col. Billy Wilson, Jr., commander of the 737th Training Group at JBSA-Lackland.

Wilson is charged with training U.S. Air Force recruits. He said the 737th Training Group’s mission is “a commitment to young people by helping them to discover themselves through service to their country.” Wilson also said although the event is a great display of support for the troops, “it also provides an opportunity for our military community to say ‘thank you’ for everything you [The J.M. Smucker Company] do for us through the Lackland Commissary.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Navy Command Master Chief Mario Rivers, DeCA’s senior enlisted advisor. “This event is an awesome demonstration of the support and appreciation our young troops have from the nation,” Rivers said. “In addition, it also gives us an opportunity to not only thank them for their commitment to serve, but more importantly, to educate them from the start of their service on the many benefits they have available to them now and throughout their career.

“When shopping regularly at a commissary, you can save thousands of dollars each year compared to commercial retailers,” Rivers continued. “You save $50 for every $200 you spend on groceries if you shop your commissary. We are proud to deliver the best prices possible to our military community – a benefit you’ve earned through your faithful service.”

Previous winners of the Mission: Breakfast contest have included the following commissaries:

• Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia (2023)

• Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii (2022)

• Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia (2019)

• Fort Belvoir, Virginia (2018)

• Naval Base San Diego, California (2017)

• Eglin Air Force Base, Florida (2016)

• Fort Carson, Colorado (2015)

• Fort Bliss, Texas (2014)

• Fort Sam Houston at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas (2013)

• Fort Eustis at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia (2012)

• Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii (2011)

• Langley Air Force Base at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia (2010)

-DeCA-

About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.