{"id":64612,"date":"2022-01-14T18:49:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T18:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/01\/14\/commissary-shelves-are-consistently-empty-customers-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:21:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:21:33","slug":"commissary-shelves-are-consistently-empty-customers-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/pay-benefits\/2022\/01\/14\/commissary-shelves-are-consistently-empty-customers-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Commissary shelves are \u2018consistently empty\u2019 customers say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A commissary customer in Sigonella, Italy says their store \u201chas consistently been empty of meat, dairy, cheese, butter, infant formula, and more for almost two months,\u201d in a post on the official Defense Commissary Agency Facebook page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe keep getting told that supply chain<\/a> is to blame, but other overseas military installations in Italy, Germany, etc. don\u2019t 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,\u201d writes Payton Leigh Perez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Guam, commissary customers \u201chave to go to the fully-stocked out-in-town stores where milk is $13\/gallon,\u201d writes Jenny Potter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commissary agency hears you. They\u2019ve been fighting this problem of shortages<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dWe 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,\u201d said Kevin Robinson, spokesman for the Defense Commissary Agency. \u201cIf they happen to see empty shelves in the store, please be patient; the store will be restocked often the very next day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All product categories are affected except for meat, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my view, the real food insecurity issue with the military<\/a> right now is making sure we get sufficient quantities into the stores so people can shop,\u201d said Steve Rossetti, president of the American Logistics Association, the trade organization representing manufacturers and distributors of products that are sold in commissaries. \u201cThe Defense Commissary Agency is doing everything they can. The distributors are doing everything we can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\t