MAXING YOUR BENEFIT: Using ‘shop.commissaries.com’ can make shopping quicker, easier, cost-effective

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – Grocery shopping can eat up a lot of time sabotaging your busy schedule. But a quick visit to shop.commissaries.com opens several options to make the process quicker and easier on the budget.

“If you want to save time and money while maximizing your commissary benefit, visit shop.commissaries.com regularly, before you shop,” said Marine Sgt. Maj. Michael R. Saucedo, the Defense Commissary Agency’s senior enlisted advisor to the agency director. “It will have a positive outcome on your time management and your budget.”

Saving time

The best way to make the shopping experience quicker, easier and much more enjoyable is to use Commissary CLICK2GO, the commissary’s online ordering, curbside pickup service. Shop from the comfort of your own home and schedule a pickup time. The commissary staff will do the shopping and have it ready to load in your car when you drive up to the pickup location.

Commissary CLICK2GO can also offer inspiration for your weekly meal plan and allow you to add the ingredients of your favorite dietitian-approved recipe to your virtual grocery cart. When shopping Commissary CLICK2GO, click on the Recipe link, select the recipe you want to add to your meal plan for the week and click the “Add to Cart” button beside each of the ingredients you need to prepare the meal, making your shopping even simpler.

A small investment of time in meal planning before you shop can reap large benefits in terms of your schedule. To take the work out of meal planning, DeCA has created an easy-to-use Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet. This template will make it easy to plan your weekly meals, shop your pantry to determine what you have on hand, and prepare a shopping list by category to make your in-store or online shopping a breeze.

If you need ideas, go to commissaries.com for ready-to-go, dietitian-approved dinner menu plans including weekly shopping lists, each for an entire month of family meals. These monthly menu plans are available on commissaries.com at these links:  Meal Plan #1 and Meal Plan #2. Choose your preferred plan and simply print off the shopping list for the week, add nutritious breakfast and lunch items and your shopping list is ready.

Saving money

Whether you shop online or in your local commissary, be sure to take advantage of all these money-savings options available on commissaries.com

•  Find coupons and coupon links for hundreds of products.

•  Look at the biweekly featured items and sales flyer. Authorized shoppers can login to see the biweekly featured items and sales flyer with discounted products; every two weeks it reflects products as they go on sale.

•  Patrons can visit individual commissary pages for event schedules and sales. Never miss another Sidewalk Sale or Healthy Lifestyle Festival.

Don’t forget you can also use the Commissary CLICK2GO mobile app to access the online payment/curbside pickup program, digital coupons, the sales flyer, dietitian-approved recipes and much more. The mobile app is free for download through the Google Play and IOS app stores.

“It’s your benefit,” Saucedo said. “Take the time to use all available resources on commissaries.com to help you get more savings when you shop and enjoy more time with family.”

-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.