Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM FEBRUARY 5-11, 2020 UCW 9 e military commissary agency has been required to track cus- tomer savings since fiscal 2016, to help defense officials and Congress monitor the commissary benefit. Commissary customers save 25% more than in civilian grocery stores. e upward trend in fiscal 2019 averaged 25.6%, according to a report from the Defense Commis- sary Agency. Overall, the savings are up from 23.9% for fiscal 2018. But savings in overseas stores de- clined from the 2018 level. Officials attribute the drop overseas to the lower cost-of-living allowance in fiscal 2019. The overall savings level for U.S. stores was 22.3% for fiscal 2019. DeCA compares prices with up to three commercial grocers, includ- ing one supercenter, in the local area of each commissary in the U.S. Fort Bragg is the largest Army post in the country and has two full-size commissaries. The comparison looks at 38,000 items at a regional level and local prices on about 1,000 products that are representa- tive of a shopper's typical market basket, officials say. For years, commissary savings were touted as an overall 30%. But, in 2016, as mandated by law, DeCA established a baseline of savings using a more thorough methodol- ogy. Congress now requires the agency to maintain savings levels that are reasonably consistent with the 2016 baseline, since the agency can now use variable pricing — lowering or raising prices on items, rather than selling them at cost, as they did for decades. Commissary officials have had the authority to do this for several years, as a means of being competi- tive with local stores, and to allow commissaries to use some of the profit made to reduce the amount of taxpayer dollars — over $1 billion a year — that's used to run the stores. Taxpayer dollars have been a target of people in DoD in efforts to save money. One retiree contacted Mili- tary Times to say he's been shop- ping at commissaries for more than 50 years, "and from what I can see, prices are noticeably going up!" Savings depend on the items, as well as the region. For example, there are more than 900 items in the commissary's Your Everyday Sav- ings, or "YES!" program, which low- ers prices year-round on items that commissary customers purchase the most. at has contributed to the increase in savings, said Robert Bianchi, a retired Navy rear admi- ral who is a Defense Department special assistant for commissary operations. e YES! program is designed to help commissaries level the playing field when it comes to the perceived value of the benefit, Bianchi added. Too many consumers get a false impression about the value of the overall savings of a civilian grocery store based on a few loss leaders. ese are items that stores are will- ing to accept revenue losses on so they can attract consumers. Bianchi said a commissary's grocery depart- ment — for example, packaged foods — is the main driver of sav- ings for commissaries in the South Atlantic region. e 30 stores in the region showed Fiscal Year 2019 sav- ings of 20.4%. Commissary savings up slightly by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS Commissary customers save 25% more than in civilian grocery stores. COMMUNITY CONCERTS PRESENTS THE CROWN THEATRE • 7:30PM VALENTINE'S DAY • FRIDAY • FEB. 14, 2020 TICKETS ON SALE NOW T i c k e t s a v a i l a b l e a t t h e C r o w n C o m p l e x B o x O ff i c e OUR SPONSORS THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER, SPRING LAKE DENTAL GROUP, LAFAYETTE MEMORIAL PARK, PLAYER MCLEAN LLP, H & H HOMES CAPEFEARTIX.COM PURCHASE ONLINE FAYETTEVILLE CUMBERLAND CO. FAYETTEVILLE CUMBERLAND CO. FAYETTEVILLE CUMBERLAND CO. FAYETTEVILLE CUMBERLAND CO. For more information call: 910.303.3996 1-888-257-6208 LooseLeafSeason.com The City of Fayetteville provides a great service with loose leaf collection beginning during the fall part of the year. You do not have to wait for leaf pickup! If you put your leaves out in sturdy bags or containers on your regular yard debris day, they will be picked up weekly. This also helps keep leaves out of the storm drains. Collection schedule determined by Collection schedule determined by zip code and neighborhood. Questions? Call (910) 433-1532 or 910-433-1FAY (433-1329).