Commissary customers will have to wait a while longer for the new home delivery program, as the original timeline faces delays and officials say there is no current start date.
The good news for commissary customers, however, is it appears officials are trying to keep delivery costs as low as possible, according to contract solicitation documents on the government’s contracting website, sam.gov. Delivery costs and distances are still being determined, said Tressa Smith, spokeswoman for the Defense Commissary Agency, which operates the military’s grocery stores.
In March, commissary officials anticipated rolling out the doorstep delivery program in midsummer at stores in the western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, before rolling out nationwide.
But that contract hasn’t yet been awarded, following several delays. The last amendment to the contract solicitation moved the deadline for contract bids to July 8.
“I believe the delay … has more to do with ensuring they set up a good program,” said Todd Waldemar, founder and chief executive officer of ChowCall, which has been delivering groceries for the commissary agency at eight pilot locations. Waldemar emphasized that’s his opinion and he doesn’t speak for the commissary agency.
ChowCall has agreed to a four-month contract extension through Nov. 30 to ensure deliveries will continue at the eight pilot locations until the new contracts are in place, Waldemar said. ChowCall has also submitted proposals for the three new contracts to operate the grocery delivery program in the three regions.
The eight pilot locations are Scott Air Force Base, Illinois; Fort Liberty South, North Carolina; MacDill Air Force Base, Florida; Fort Belvoir and Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Naval Base San Diego in California.
Commissary officials aren’t considering doorstep delivery for overseas commissaries, Smith said, “due to the sensitive nature of overseas regulatory constraints.”
The commissary agency’s solicitation includes an option for bidders to include a “government supplemental payment” in their proposals, potentially as a subsidy to lower the delivery costs to customers
Based on the commissary agency’s market research, “any proposed delivery fee in excess of $10 for a delivery radius not to exceed 10 miles will be deemed unreasonable,” according to the solicitation. The commissary agency doesn’t identify a maximum amount of any government subsidy in the solicitation but states those evaluating the proposals will consider the fairness of pricing in the context of retail grocery delivery pricing. Bidders submitted prices for deliveries of up to 10 miles, as well as deliveries of up to 20 miles.
“In my opinion, once the CONUS contracts are in place, customers will likely see significantly lower delivery costs than what is being offered in the current delivery pilot,” Waldemar said.
When the commissary agency’s grocery delivery pilot began two years ago, two companies held contracts to ferry food and other goods from stores to customers’ homes, work and other locations. One of those companies, ChowCall, took over deliveries for all eight commissaries in March 2023.
When the pilot first launched in 2022, most delivery fees hovered around $4 per order. Customers paid the fee in addition to the cost of groceries, the 5% surcharge, and, if desired, a tip for the driver. But those low delivery fees made it financially difficult for the companies to cover operating costs like gas prices and drivers’ salaries.
When ChowCall took over all eight stores in the pilot program last year, commissary officials allowed them to increase the delivery fees, with fees based on a customer’s distance from the commissary. Delivery fees now range from $10.99 to $16.70 for a five-mile trip or less to $29.99 for a 16- to 20-mile trip.
“I believe (the commissary agency’s) intent is to lower the end delivery cost to the customer, which is in line with (its) mission of delivering the commissary benefit at significantly lower costs,” Waldemar said.
ChowCall has delivered more than 24,000 loads of groceries since beginning commissary deliveries in June 2022, Waldemar said.
Customers using the current delivery pilot program range from active-duty families to troops living in barracks, retirees and disabled veterans — and people who want to get a head start on shopping or grab a bite to eat while at work. The service can be especially helpful to young families of troops who are deployed, such as spouses with young children.
Those eligible for the commissary shopping benefit include active-duty, Guard and Reserve members, military retirees, Medal of Honor recipients and their authorized family members. Veterans with any Department of Veterans Affairs-documented, service-connected disability rating are now eligible for commissary shopping, as well as Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war and individuals who have been approved and designated as the primary caregivers of eligible veterans by the VA.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
