A Military Family Support Center opens Thursday in Marietta.
The center, which is part of a public-private partnership will serve National Guard and Reserve members, retired veterans and active-duty military personnel and their families, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The center will hold on-site sales for retired veterans, active-duty personnel and their families three days each month. Attendees only need to present their Department of Defense ID cards to go take part in the on-site sales.
The center is the first of its kind to be served by the Defense Commissary Agency, according to the article.
“For its first sale, the center will open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and May 20 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 21 at 1901 Terrell Mill Road, Marietta just beyond the gates of Dobbins ARB on a site that is leased and maintained by the Cobb Chamber and its partners,” the article reads. “Grocery goods will be sold at cost plus a 5 percent surcharge.”
The Defense Commissary Agency will conduct the monthly on-site sales — open to any commissary-authorized persons — and featuring a variety of items, including fresh meat, fresh produce, dry goods, frozen foods and refrigerated goods.
In addition to those items, the Military Family Support Center will offer a variety of services to authorized users during each sale date. The Georgia Department of Driver Services will be on site to provide license and ID renewal and replacement from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Authorized commissary users must present proper documentation in order to receive assistance from the Georgia DDS. For a list of required documents, visit http://www.dds.ga.gov/secureid/index.aspx. Additionally, the Georgia Veterans Administration will have support staff members available to answer general VA questions.
Sponsors of the support center include the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, the Defense Commissary Agency, the Georgia Department of Defense, Dobbins Air Reserve Base and its joint partners.
The Department of Defense (DoD) and each branch of the military Services also provide online information for military families, including those in the Guard and Reserve. The websites inform families about services, points of contact, links to additional sources of support, and opportunities to interact with other military families. For example, the Army Reserve runs http://www.arfp.org/index.phpwww.arfp.org/index.php designed to help Army Reservist families. They also operate a 24/7 assistance line known as “Fort Family.”