During the holidays, giving and receiving commissary gift cards has never been easier with “open value” cards – the kind that lets you set your own limit up to $300 – now available worldwide in commissaries, and at Navy Exchanges and Army and Air Force Exchanges.

The Coca-Cola Company is voluntarily recalling a specific size of its refrigerated Minute Maid Strawberry Lemonade product due to the potential presence of foreign matter, according to a recall notice from the Defense Commissary Agency’s food safety office sent Nov. 13.

Military commissaries will operate under a holiday schedule beginning Nov. 23, the Defense Commissary Agency announced.

Army Lt. Col. Angela Parham, the Defense Commissary Agency’s director of public health and safety, has seen her share of the worst virus outbreaks. During the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Parham deployed to Sierra Leone while serving a fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service. There, she talked to family members and friends of Ebola victims, learning all she could about the impact of that horrific disease. Fast forward five years and Parham is with DeCA, helping the agency determine protective measures against COVID-19 for commissaries on installations with different requirements and evolving public health recommendations.

Bridget Bennett, supervisory category manager for produce at the Defense Commissary Agency in Fort Lee, Virginia, has been named one of only four winners of the first-ever Retail Merchant Innovation Awards by the Produce Marketing Association, during their annual Fresh Summit, held virtually Oct. 14.

Despite the uncertainty of COVID-19, the military community can depend on its commissary to deliver savings and value in a safe environment during the holidays, said the Defense Commissary Agency director’s senior enlisted advisor.

Commissaries are adding digital contactless thermometers and children’s reusable masks to store inventories, announced the Defense Commissary Agency’s (DeCA) director of sales.

Prairie Farms Dairy is voluntarily recalling a limited quantity of their Prairie Farms Chocolate Milk because it may contain egg, an undeclared allergen, according to a Department of Defense All Food and Drug Activity message sent Nov. 29.

Good times and good food go together. To help make the winter holidays cheery and bright in spite of the pandemic, the Defense Commissary Agency is going all out to make cooking meals at home easier and delicious.