Retired Rear Adm. Robert J. Bianchi, Chief Executive Officer of the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) and Department of Defense (DOD) Special Assistant to ASD (M&RA) for Commissary Operations was honored with the DOD Distinguished Civilian Service Award at the 64th Annual Distinguished Civilian Service Award ceremony held at the Pentagon on Nov. 14.

Mondelēz Global LLC is voluntarily recalling a limited quantity of Cheese Nips products because they may be contaminated with extraneous small food-grade yellow plastic pieces, according to a Department of Defense All Food and Drug Activity message sent Nov. 15.

Kraft Heinz Company is voluntarily recalling select varieties of Breakstone’s Cottage Cheese product because they may be contaminated with extraneous red plastic and metal pieces, according to a Department of Defense All Food and Drug Activity message sent Nov. 15.

Starting Jan. 1, all service-connected disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients, former prisoners of war and primary veteran caregivers will be eligible to shop at commissaries worldwide.

More commissaries will be open on the Mondays before Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Defense Commissary Agency announced.

Commissaries worldwide are offering plant-based meat options for burgers, ground beef and sausages that are trending well with patrons, said the Defense Commissary Agency’s director of sales.

Mann Packing Co. has expanded their recall on vegetable products because additional items may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to a Department of Defense All Food and Drug Activity message sent Nov. 7.

The Defense Commissary Agency’s (DeCA’s) “gift of groceries” officially became a member of the seven-figure club Nov. 4 when the 1 millionth commissary gift card was sold at the Misawa Air Base, Japan, Commissary.

For military and civilian alike, nothing easily spans the separations of family and friends created by military service and brightens the winter holidays quite like commissary gift cards, and this year new “open value” cards let gift givers determine the amounts they want to give.