Feasting for the holidays: Commissaries offer significant savings for festive meals

Note: To watch a video on DeCA’s YouTube page related to saving on your holiday meals, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xh2ODgNvlY.

FORT LEE, Va. – ‘Tis the season for a feast, so preparations are taking shape for one of the most important events of the holidays, the Christmas dinner.

 “Whether you’re trying all new recipes or are bound to a menu established by tradition, your commissary ensures you will have a celebration with all the trimmings at significant savings,” said Tracie Russ, Defense Commissary Agency sales director.

Your commissary and industry partners are offering lots of savings opportunities to help curb the cost of prepping for the holiday meal:

• Commissary store brands offer high-quality, low-cost private label options for commissary patrons. These brands are Freedom’s Choice for food items; HomeBase for nonfood items; Full Circle Market for healthy, USDA-organic-certified and GMO-free options; Tippy Toes for baby and child care items; TopCare for health and beauty products; and Flock’s Finest for wild bird food. 
• Commissaries are offering free turkeys through the 2018 Turkey Coupon Holiday Booklet. Purchase a fresh or frozen whole turkey in the same transaction as other products featured in the booklet and you can combine the coupons from the booklet to save over $35 on your turkey. Coupons are good through Dec. 31; booklets are available while supplies last.
• Commissaries are featuring holiday-related product displays offering extra low prices at the ends of each aisle. 
• Your Everyday Savings: Look for the Yes! label to find hundreds of popular-selling items reduced in price compared to similar products outside the gate.
• Unilever is offering coupon flyers with about $5 in savings to commissary patrons for its “MILITARY STAR Card Bill Payment” event. They will also award $500 to 40 families to help them pay down their MILITARY STAR® card balances. See the in-store displays on selected products through Dec. 16.
• Commissary patrons are encouraged to visit DeCA’s new online customer portal, MyCommissary, to manage their online shopping experience. The portal makes it easy to access their Commissary Rewards Card account or see the current sales flyer.
• General Mills is presenting Holiday Bake Centers, high-value coupons and in-store giveaways at select commissaries throughout the month of December.
• Patrons who use their MILITARY STAR® card through the end of 2018 will be automatically entered to win the “Your Holiday Bill is on Us” sweepstakes! Five grand prize winners will receive an account credit for the entire balance on their MILITARY STAR® cards; 10 shoppers will win a $1,000 account credit and 25 shoppers will win a $500 account credit. Minimum value of each grand prize: $2,500.

 “Your commissary helps make your Christmas dinner super affordable,” said Russ.  “So all you have to decide is whether your menu is going to be ‘new and creative’ or ‘tried and true.’ Then take advantage of your commissary savings and enjoy a comforting holiday meal with family and friends.”