THANKSGIVING BOOST: Commissaries give customers ideas for preparing their festive feasts on Turkey Day and afterwards while offering cost-saving deals

NOTE: Click here to access an infographic for holiday leftover recipes.

FORT LEE, Va. – As mid-November fast approaches, our minds turn toward the Thanksgiving meal. While the turkey is considered the show-stopper, arguably, the side dishes are what we look forward to the most.

“Every family has favorite must-have Thanksgiving sides that they anticipate all year,” said Bonita Moffett, the Defense Commissary Agency’s sales director. “Shop the commissary to save money on all the ingredients necessary to make sure all those favorites hit your holiday table.”

With these simple tips and money-saving promotions, your commissary will help you lay out the Thanksgiving spread everyone is anticipating while not busting your budget:

• Make a list and stick to it. The commissary website has lots of recipes. Go to https://corp.commissaries.com/recipes/all-recipes and use these recipes to help make your grocery list. At the store, don’t get distracted by impulse buys that can destroy your budget.

• Shop your pantry. Plan dishes around ingredients you already have on hand.

• Load commissary coupons onto your Commissary Rewards Card before you shop. Don’t have a rewards card yet?  Pick one up at your local commissary and register it here: https://corp.commissaries.com/rewards-and-savings/rewards-card

• Check out the savings on your commissary website. Visit https://corp.commissaries.com/rewards-and-savings/savings-center for coupons, sales flyers and featured items.

• Take advantage of reduced prices on holiday turkeys.  While supplies last, Commissaries are offering frozen, whole-body Shady Brook/Honeysuckle/Valchris turkeys for less than 50 cents a pound through December and frozen Butterball, whole-body turkeys for less than a $1.50 a pound.

• Mix do-it-yourself with store-made foods: From appetizers to apple pies, your commissary can help save you time and money with their prepared foods. Meat and cheese platters can be ordered several ways: The deli manager can take your order when shopping at the commissary or order online using the Commissary CLICK2GO web page on www.commissaries.com. Fruit and vegetable trays may be ordered through your produce manager while shopping or by calling the produce department.

• Buy produce that is in season. Using fruits and veggies that are in season and readily available will save you money. See a list at https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/seasonal-produce-guide. From Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, stateside stores will have special prices on pears, a holiday staple.

• Take advantage of the Produce Doorbuster Sale. From Nov. 19 – 24, stateside commissaries to include Alaska and Hawaii will offer significant savings on potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and fresh cranberries, key ingredients in some of the favorite holiday side dishes. 

• Consider leftovers. Your commissary has made it easy to ensure you have ingredients on hand to use those holiday leftovers. Simply use this handy leftover recipe guide complete with shopping list ingredients for dietitian-approved leftover recipe options.

“The holidays are busy times and can be expensive,” Moffett said. “Your commissary is the time saving solution for a great Thanksgiving meal, complete with your favorite sides and leftover options, on an affordable budget.”

-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.