Hello Friends!
We hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday season!
A few updates!
1) We have spoken to someone from the Governor’s Military Council to get the issue in front of the council. For those at are unfamiliar, the military council is made up of military, civic and state leadership members. You can read more about the military council here: https://militarycouncil.ca.gov/m_aboutthecouncil/
The good news.. They will be having their next meeting sometime in February. This is a PUBLIC meeting, so anyone is welcome to attend. Their meetings are posted here: https://militarycouncil.ca.gov/meetings/ We are hoping that the commissary will be on their agenda for this meeting.
2) We are still looking for volunteers to stand outside the commissary to hand out leaflets (you print at home) and talk to the community to garner more support.
3) We now have the attention and support of Congressman Kevin Mullin. Here is the email we received from his office:
I am grateful you brought this matter to my attention. Constituent comments like yours are vitally important to informing my work advocating for the Peninsula in Congress. I also appreciate your patience in my responding to your message. I directed my staff to contact NASA and gather more information about the situation. The agency’s staff were furloughed during government shutdown in October and November and were unable to respond to my inquiry; with the government reopened, NASA provided the following information.
As you may know, the Ames Research Center has leased Buildings 12 and 13 – which host the Commissary – to the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) since 1993 despite, according the agency, “having no direct benefit to NASA or its missions,” These buildings require significant maintenance and structural repairs, but NASA stated it does not have the resources to carry these out. NASA Ames has offered to extend the Commissary’s lease for two years to give the DeCA time to find an alternative location. NASA reported to me that it sent DeCA the proposed leased extension, but DeCA has not yet signed it.
While this information is helpful, I still have many unanswered questions. I have heard from several of my constituents, like yourself, who are similarly concerned about the financial hardships that the Moffett Field Commissary’s closure would bring: Countless active duty military and veterans throughout the Bay Area would be forced to travel over 75 miles to the nearest alternative source for affordable food, household items, and other benefits they deserve. This is an infeasible and unacceptable prospect.
I am closely monitoring this issue, and my office will continue discussing this situation with NASA and the DeCA. Please feel free to stay in touch with me if you learn more information about the future of the facility. I am committed to working with other Bay Area representatives to find a solution. Thank you again for raising this issue.
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While he does discuss a two year extension of the lease, the extension he is referring to is still the August 2027 date. It is NOT an extension to 2029. However, it’s good to have TWO congressmen supporting the cause now! Thank you Congressmen Licccardo and Mullin!
If you would like to help add others to our list, please out other representatives in your area.
4) Keep sharing the petition with friends, family, coworkers…your neighbors…your mailman… We need all the support we can get to keep this vital resource in our community!
As always, you can email us at SaveTheMoffettCommissary@gmail.com
You can also find us in our group on Facebook: Save the Moffett Field Commissary. Come join us!
Here’s to a successful 2026 where we will work together to save the commissary!!!!