They have a reputation for being super cheap - at some point in the distant past I think they were, but when I was active duty the prices were nothing special. The only time I did any shopping on base was when I was too lazy to make the trip off base to the local Walmart. The on base stuff are all basically convenience stores, and as convenience stores go the prices are pretty good, but if money’s pretty tight (which is 100% of the junior enlisted) you shouldn’t be shopping there anyway.
Not sure what your area was or what, but it’s definitely way cheaper. I still have the ability to go and make a 45-minute monthly trek to do so. Meat alone is, on average, 50% cheaper than Walmart and about 30-40% cheaper than the cheapest place I have in town
There are a few exceptions like certain canned veggies/beans if you can buy in bulk at Sam’s Club or Costco can be a bit more expensive at the Commissary on a per ounce basis and name brand frozen/pantry “convenience” foods tend to have little savings
But by and large it’s dirt cheap compared to off-base
Definitely not where I was stationed… which was disappointing, as that was one of the perks of enlisting folks would often tout… and I was obviously a gullible little dipshit then, seeing as I enlisted.
They have a reputation for being super cheap - at some point in the distant past I think they were, but when I was active duty the prices were nothing special. The only time I did any shopping on base was when I was too lazy to make the trip off base to the local Walmart. The on base stuff are all basically convenience stores, and as convenience stores go the prices are pretty good, but if money’s pretty tight (which is 100% of the junior enlisted) you shouldn’t be shopping there anyway.
Not sure what your area was or what, but it’s definitely way cheaper. I still have the ability to go and make a 45-minute monthly trek to do so. Meat alone is, on average, 50% cheaper than Walmart and about 30-40% cheaper than the cheapest place I have in town
There are a few exceptions like certain canned veggies/beans if you can buy in bulk at Sam’s Club or Costco can be a bit more expensive at the Commissary on a per ounce basis and name brand frozen/pantry “convenience” foods tend to have little savings
But by and large it’s dirt cheap compared to off-base
Definitely not where I was stationed… which was disappointing, as that was one of the perks of enlisting folks would often tout… and I was obviously a gullible little dipshit then, seeing as I enlisted.