DeCA

The commissary

Commissaries are grocery stores located on military installations worldwide. They're basically your neighborhood grocery, a place where you could run into your boss stocking up on his favorite snacks. The commissary sells food and household items at cost plus a 5 percent surcharge, so on average, shoppers can save more than 30 percent compared to shopping in town. You can also find savings of 50 percent or more during the commissary customer appreciation case lot sales. As an added bonus, stateside commissaries are rolling out in-store Wi-Fi to enhance your shopping experience and enable you to download digital coupons for even greater savings.

You can shop at the commissary if you're in one of these groups:

• Uniformed-service members (active, reserve or retired, including Coast Guard, and service academy cadets and midshipmen)
  
• Medal of Honor recipients
  
• Honorably-discharged veterans with 100 percent service-connected disability
  
• Department of Defense civilian employees stationed outside the United States
  
• Authorized family members 
  You don't have to be in uniform to shop, although sometimes it might get you head-of-line privileges at checkout.
  
  The Defense Commissary Agency operates 240 commissaries, including overseas, so you will never be without your favorite comfort foods. Check out the DeCA website Quick Links for locations, store hours, contact information, floor plans and special savings.