A commissary customer in Sigonella, Italy says their store “has consistently been empty of meat, dairy, cheese, butter, infant formula, and more for almost two months,” in a post on the official Defense Commissary Agency Facebook page.
“We keep getting told that supply chain is to blame, but other overseas military installations in Italy, Germany, etc. don’t look like this. Neither do stores out in town. The commissary is an entitlement to support the military and their families, which we rely upon dearly. This is unacceptable,” writes Payton Leigh Perez.
In Guam, commissary customers “have to go to the fully-stocked out-in-town stores where milk is $13/gallon,” writes Jenny Potter.
From Millington, Tenn., to Europe and the Pacific, commissary customers are seeing empty shelves, just like many people are seeing in civilian grocery stores. Customers have posted comments on a number of installation Facebook pages.
The commissary agency hears you. They’ve been fighting this problem of shortages for more than a year, but it has been exacerbated lately by the surging number of COVID cases. All military commissaries worldwide are seeing the effects of the supply chain disruption, officials said.
”We want our customers to know we are doing everything we can, and more, to get the products they need onto their store shelves, especially to our overseas commissaries,” said Kevin Robinson, spokesman for the Defense Commissary Agency. “If they happen to see empty shelves in the store, please be patient; the store will be restocked often the very next day.”
All product categories are affected except for meat, he said.
“In my view, the real food insecurity issue with the military right now is making sure we get sufficient quantities into the stores so people can shop,” said Steve Rossetti, president of the American Logistics Association, the trade organization representing manufacturers and distributors of products that are sold in commissaries. “The Defense Commissary Agency is doing everything they can. The distributors are doing everything we can.”
He said there are about 2,300 grocery items across the board where there are limited quantities available, and the commissaries and other civilian stores are allocated a certain number of those items by manufacturers. ALA has been pressing manufacturers to increase their allocations to commissaries, citing the unique worldwide needs of commissary customers.
{jcomments on}