Healthy savings: Want to spend less on nutritious foods while you start your new year's resolution to be healthier? Try your commissary

FORT LEE, Va. – Family Fit Lifestyle Month in January highlights nutrition and the benefits of exercising. And the commissary is there to help service members and their families achieve their fitness goals without flexing their budgets.

“Regardless of what you didn’t do in 2020, you can always start a healthy lifestyle in 2021which includes a consistent fitness plan and nutritious meals,” said Marine Sgt. Maj. Michael R. Saucedo, the Defense Commissary Agency’s senior enlisted advisor to the DeCA director. “And as you plan to prepare your menus, check out our Thinking Outside the Box section to save an extra 20 percent on the ingredients for our dietitian-approved recipes.”

Patrons are also minded to check the DeCA website for ways to maximize their benefit. They should also check with their store for details or visit their store page on commissaries.com to verify what’s available. Overseas stores may have substitute events for certain promotional programs.

Here are a few areas to consider for commissary savings:

• Special pricing worldwide on Freedom’s Choice Chicken Breast. Availability of this Commissary Store Brand item will vary by commissary. Promotion runs through Jan. 31.

• “Warming up America.” General Mills is offering high-value coupons and premium giveaways for significant savings on Progresso Soup products. Promotion runs through Jan. 31.

• We Stand Together. Commissary customers can earn a $15-off digital coupon by purchasing $50 worth of P&G products through Jan. 31 in a single transaction. Shoppers must scan their Commissary Rewards Card at checkout to have the digital coupon added to their card. The coupon must be redeemed by Feb. 28.

• General Mills “Return to School/Box Tops Education” Event. With the start of a new year, General Mills is offering the “Return to School” event, which serves as an opportunity for commissary customers to save money on their favorite General Mills brands while supporting their local schools. Instead of clipping box tops, shoppers can now use the Box Tops for Education app or mobile site to simply scan their receipt and the earnings will instantly be credited to the school of their choice’s account. Each box top submitted is worth 10 cents. Since going digital, 1.6 million people have used the app to submit over 14.6 million receipts. Commissary customers will see oversized lunch box displays, as well as school bus displays with high-value coupons. Customers will also see “Family Fit Lifestyle” displays promoting savings on General Mills nutritious and healthy snacks and meals. Promotions run through Jan. 31.

• Featured ‘dietitian-approved’ recipes. Customers can save up to 20 percent on select ingredients for the following recipes highlighted on commissaries.com: Hearty Beef Stew and Chile Chicken Nachos.

• Find out what’s on sale. Go to the Reward and Savings section to get the Sales Flyer that gives prices on sale products along with other useful information about food and commissary services.

• Save money with the Commissary Rewards Card, your source for digital coupons. For example, digital coupons are available on Air Wick (saves $1.50, expires Jan. 16), Purina Beneful Medleys (saves $3, expires Jan. 16); and Glad Flex ‘N Seal (save $1, expires Jan. 25).

• Commissary beef and pork savings. Commissary customers can save up to 25 percent on the following beef and pork packages. Check with your meat department to learn more about these sizzling offers:
  • Tailgate Special Power Box offers 19 pounds of select cuts of beef and pork
  • Economy Power Box offers 15 pounds of select cuts of beef and pork
  • Healthy Alternative Power Box offers 16 pounds of select cuts of beef and pork
  • Fix it and Forget It Power Box offers 15 pounds of select cuts of beef 

 “We wish for all our service members and their families to have a safe, peaceful and prosperous new year,” Saucedo said. “Our commissary staff is dedicated to delivering their commissary benefit. And when they enter their commissary they can depend on us following strict DOD health protection in our stores, specifically regarding sanitary measures, face coverings and social distancing.”

-DeCA-

PHOTO CAPTION: A soldier shops in the commissary. (DeCA photo: Kevin Robinson)

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.