The commissary on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson feels and looks like any big-chain supermarket — there’s fresh produce, frozen goods and a deli section.
But if you look closely at the prices, the similarities disappear.
On a recent Thursday, assistant store director Ernest Woody showed off the meat section, where he said the deals are especially good.
“This is something unique about the commissary that everybody goes crazy about,” Woody said.
On U.S. military bases around the world, commissaries are essentially the same as grocery stores. But there’s a key difference: They’re mandated by law to offer prices that won’t turn a profit.
The biggest deals at the JBER commissary are on refrigerated and frozen items, and cleaning supplies, Woody said.
“Unlike a grocery store, we're not going to increase our prices to pay the utility bills for the building,” he said. “They don't charge for the weight for the transportation, everything is under contract. Our prices don't increase to pay that off.”
The JBER commissary was named the nation’s “Best Commissary” in June by the Defense Commissary Agency, a branch of the U.S. Department of Defense that operates over 200 of these stores on military bases worldwide.
Stores were judged on a variety of categories, including sales, customer surveys, safety, organization and an overall friendly environment.
Commissaries are exclusively for the military community and their families, including retirees, Guard and Purple Heart recipients. They sell food and household goods at often lower prices than civilian stores, saving shoppers at least 25% on their overall bill. In Anchorage, where the cost of living is over 20% higher than the national average, shoppers say the savings are especially appreciated.
Commissaries are required to set prices with no profit built in, besides a 5% surcharge on all purchases that’s reinvested to fund basic costs, according to DeCA.
When egg prices soared earlier this year across the country, a dozen at the commissary never cost more than $4.25. Certain frozen dinners are more than $2 cheaper than a regular grocery store and ground beef costs roughly half the price per pound.
Those savings are a big deal in a state like Alaska, where more than 10% of the state’s population are veterans and 3% are active duty.
It’s a reason why Marie Pelton buys groceries at the commissary.
“We could not survive without the commissary,” she said. “Here in Alaska, the cost of living is a little higher, so we get really good deals here, and the prices are great. I don't know how people do it on the outside, it's a great, great place.”
Pelton’s family bounced around bases across the country before her husband retired from the Navy and they settled in Alaska. Wherever they were stationed, she said the commissary was a go-to for military families like hers.
She wasn’t surprised the JBER commissary won an award.
“The people are really friendly. We've become friends with a few of the checkers, and that's really nice to see the same people every day at the deli counter and at the checkout. So, it's more than just the commissary. It's the people,” Pelton said.
The JBER commissary won the same award in 2016 and 2017, and they’re hoping to win again next year.
The store carries over 20,000 different products, most of which can be found at typical grocery stores, but it also sells international goods, like seasonings, sauerkraut and sausages.
James Frey, originally from Michigan, wasn’t too surprised about the award either. He said he comes here about three times a week and rarely shops anywhere else.
“I cruise the aisles and get my steps in, buy some fresh stuff, get some variety. They have some good meat deals, and especially on beef, compared to the rest of Anchorage,” the 67-year-old Coast Guard veteran said.
Shopping at the commissary makes Frey’s money go further because he frequently cooks for himself, which is more expensive per person compared to shopping for a family.
Woody, the assistant store director, previously worked at commissaries in Europe, but he said the one on JBER is one of the best he’s worked at.
“The employees here are great,” he said. “They're wonderful. I wouldn't change them for anything else.”
