FORT LEE, Va. -- What could you do with $2,000?

Put a down payment on a new car? Go on a family vacation? Save it for the kids’ college fund? There are a lot of things you could do with $2,000 but surely you wouldn’t throw it away.

That’s what some reservists may be doing if they don’t take advantage of their best non-pay benefit: shopping at the commissary.

"As a mother of three teenage boys, all three in high school, you wouldn’t believe my grocery bill," said Tech. Sgt. Belinda Ray, an Air Force Reserve training technician with the 908th Airlift Wing, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

"The commissary makes is possible for me to buy more food than at a regular supermarket simply because it saves money. I definitely take advantage of the spectacular case-lot sales and other promotions."

That is what the Defense Commissary Agency wants to see -- reserve force members getting the most bang for their buck via the commissary benefit.

"Reserve and National Guard personnel are authorized 24 commissary visits each year," said Maj. Gen. Robert J. Courter Jr., director of DeCA, Fort Lee, Va. "Commissary shopping is part of their non-pay military compensation and we want reservists to use their commissary benefit. After all, they earned it," he said.

With careful planning, 24 visits to the commissary can result in serious savings. A recent market basket survey reported that commissary shoppers save 27 percent on their grocery purchases. This means that a reservist shopping for a family of four could save more than $2,000 a year by using the commissary.

Those 24 commissary visits are available also to "gray area" reservist retirees -- those who will be entitled to retired pay at age 60 but have not yet reached that age. On their 60th birthday, retired members and their eligible family members gain unlimited access to the commissary. The same privilege applies to former members who are treated the same as "gray area" reservists.

Unfortunately, many Guard and Reserve members lose out on these savings because they do not have a current DD Form 2529, U.S. Armed Forces Commissary Privilege Card, for the calendar year. DeCA does not issue these cards. Anyone in the Guard or Reserve who has not received a current card should contact his or her unit orderly room or first sergeant.

To shop in the commissary, reservists or immediate family members, need a valid ID Card and current commissary card that entitles them to 24 shopping days. Cards are stamped or initialed at the checkout for each day of store visits. Multiple visits during the same day count as one day’s visit. During periods of active-duty for training, reservists can visit the commissary as many times as they wish by showing their ID and active-duty orders only. Commissary cards will not be initialed during active-duty status.

Reservists may use their 24 commissary visits at their discretion throughout the calendar year. However, any commissary visits unused at the end of a calendar year do not carry over into the next calendar year.

Retirees and members not attached to drilling units may call one of the numbers below or check the Web sites for more information:

Naval Reserve: (800) 525-2699, ext. 5500 or (504) 678-5500

Marine Corps Reserve: (703) 784-9306