Commissary

The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) maintains a small to medium size commissary for the American community in Naples. Located in Agnano, at the older NSA base, the store, along with the NEX is slated for replacement within the next four years with a state of the art commissary and exchange facility (equal in size to new stateside commissaries) at the Support Site, in Gricignano. To assist the community living on the economy, two mini-marts are located in Pinetamare and Capodichino. A small temporary store has been built at the Gricignano Support Site and will remain open until the new commissary is completed.

The commissary stocks most popular American items, such as snacks, canned goods, cereal, laundry products and mixes, such as cake or brownies. Due to space limitations, brands and quantity can be somewhat limited. New items arrive frequently, and may be added to the regular list of carried items if demand is high. There is normally a long delay between the stateside release of a new product and arrival in Naples. For example, WOW, the new fat-free potato chips, have not become available in our area. The commissary will special order any item on the European distribution list, provided that you buy one full case. A good example is Vivid laundry bleach, which I prefer, but the commissary stocks only Clorox II. I can order one case of six bottles, and normally it arrives within 10 days with the commissary's order from the warehouse.

Our commissary stocks frozen seafood, breakfast meats, vegetables, and ice cream from the states, in addition to produce, dairy, and vacuum packed fresh beef and pork from Germany. There is a very limited selection of local poultry, produce, and European grocery items.

A very wide variety of local foods are available in almost every neighborhood. .For descriptions of many of the shops and their selections, see the link for "Groceries, Local Style."