DeCA announces new team to transform patrons’ fresh food shopping experience

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. - With fresh foods being such a valuable part of a grocery store's performance, the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) has created a special team to elevate its patrons' shopping experience for produce, meat and seafood, announced DeCA's Director and Chief Executive Officer John E. Hall.

The agency's new "All Things Fresh" team, established effective Nov. 1, brings together members from across the organization to help enhance DeCA's emphasis on its fresh foods.

"Fresh foods are fundamentally important to our patrons, and this transformation effort encompasses all our fresh meat, seafood, produce, prepared foods, deli, bakery and sushi operations worldwide," Hall said. "While DeCA has done a good job in these areas, we want to maintain the best-in-class capabilities we have on meat, delivering quality and value, while improving our delivery on produce, deli/bakery and sushi, and expanding into high-quality prepared foods."

DeCA Sales Director Bonita Moffett leads the team as the new director of Sales, Fresh, while Edward Walters III, executive director of the Sales, Marketing and eCommerce Group, will temporarily fill the role of director of Sales, Non-Fresh until that position is filled.

The following members lead key areas of the "All Things Fresh" team:

• Jason White, chief of perishable division for the Store Operations Group, leads the meat and seafood categories
• Bridget Bennett, category manager for meat and produce, leads produce
• James Taylor, chief of the store operations division for Store Operations, leads prepared foods, deli, bakery and sushi
• Deborah Harris, DeCA nutritionist and health and wellness program manager, leads nutrition

Hall expects the "All Things Fresh" team to identify areas of improvement, innovate existing processes and incorporate industry best practices. Through this concentrated effort, the agency hopes to "provide more focused leadership and the highest level of operational excellence" in its fresh foods categories, he said.

"We are excited to have Bonita Moffett, with both her internal category planning and external store operational experience, lead this transformation team," Hall added. "I strongly believe dedicated focus on fresh and the teams' efforts will drive our patron experience to greater levels."

-DeCA-

About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees, disabled veterans and other authorized patrons and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which supports the costs of building, modernizing and sustaining commissary facilities. A core military family support element and valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America's military services and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.