Care Package Items for Soldiers

Small packages arrive more quickly. When packing your items, ship toiletries separate from all food items. When the toiletries and food are packed together, the food tastes like soaps or deodorants, even when heavy zip-loc bags are used to separate the items.
		Snacks and non-perishable food items, particularly tuna kits, beef jerky, canned fruit, dried fruit, nuts and other healthy snacks Undershirts (white, short sleeve) Socks (bootcut, black, green, or white) Cigarettes, Copenhagen and Skoal Single-use cameras (disposable style) Pre-sweetened flavored beverage mixes Letters of support (letters from you, from children, or from your business, office, school, or other organization in support of our troops) Phone Cards
Food and Snack Items…
	Pork and pork by-products are not allowed to be shipped to most Middle East combat locations. Please send non-perishable foods only. Single-serving package sizes are preferred; large packages won't stay fresh and are harder to ship. If you can stuff it in your pocket and it's not going to spoil or melt during the summer season, it's a good thing to send!
		Fruit: individual serving size cans of fruit, dried fruit Nuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, trail mix Power bars, protein bars, nutritional bars Beef jerky, beef summer sausage (non-perishable; labeled USDA Beef) Single-serving bags of snacks, crackers, chips, snack mixes Pop Tarts, cereal bars, "milk & cereal" bars, granola bars Ramen Noodles, Cup-O-Noodles serving cups Ravioli and other canned ready-to-eat meals (canned or styrofoam single serving are best) Tuna lunch kits (includes foil pouch of tuna, crackers, and condiments in each singleserving kit) Canned sardines, smoked oysters Torengos® nacho-style chips and canned nacho cheese dip Jalapeño Velveeta® and crackers Taco Bell® Sauce Packets Seasoning salts, flavoring salts
Beverage Items…
	We cannot ship liquids. However, they do need flavors to add to the drinking water provided to them. Please send pre-sweetened or sugar-free flavoring mixes in small or single-serving packages. During the colder months, hot beverages are in great demand. Please do not send glass jars.
		Coffee, coffee mixes, tea Hot cocoa mix Lemonade mix, Kool-Aid mix, Tang, Iced Tea mix Gatorade mix (powdered only) Crystal Light (or other brand) "On The Go" flavor packets (these come in a box of several sleeves of flavoring that can be added to a 16-20 oz. water bottle) Sweetener, sugar and creamer packets for coffee
Recreational Items…
		Frisbee, Nerf Footballs, Hacky Sack, Tennis Balls Deck of cards Hand-held games Gameboy Advance games Movie DVDs (new or used; original only) Music CDs (new or used; original only) Paperback books, novels (new or used) Magazines (new or used, but fairly current) Portable DVD Players Portable CD Players Board Games
Clothing Items…
	Color of underclothing and socks is not as important as 100% cotton. Send fingerless gloves and stocking caps during winter months only.
		Cotton socks Underwear and T-shirts Military-green cotton boot socks (try military surplus stores) Sunglasses, goggle-style sunglasses, goggles
Communication Items…
		Small cassette player and small cassette tapes Disposable cameras Envelopes, paper, pens Small pads of paper Notebooks (a size they can keep in a pocket and keep dry) Drawing pads Small, blank journals Blank holiday cards (Christmas, Easter, Valentines, Birthday, Anniversary) that they can fill out and send back home to their family and friends
Personal Supply Items…
		Batteries (AA are most requested, then AAA) Cigarettes, chew, cigars Tactical Duct tape: military green, tan or black Electrical tape Super glue 72" Bootlaces (brown or tan preferred) Leatherman All-in-One Tool Flashlight with a red lens Quart-size, 1- and 2-gallon ziploc plastic bags Sheets - for those at a base Small travel pillow or inflatable pillows Disposable, instant hand warmers (during the winter months only)
Foot Care Items…
	Footcare is critical and the demand for quality products is very high. Be sure that all items are in the original, sealed packages.
		Cotton socks, black, green, or white Boot liners/insoles Odor eaters for boots Lotrimin AF or Tinactin for athletes foot (tubes of ointment or cream, or the bottle of drops; please do not send the aerosol spray type) Medicated Foot Powder, Medicated Foot Swabs Moleskin (for pads on sore feet, you'll find it with Dr. Scholls type things at Wal-Mart or drug stores)
Personal Care Items…
	Moleskin (for pads on sore feet, you'll find it with Dr. Scholls type things at Wal-Mart or drug stores) Lip balm is in high demand in desert areas. The lipstick-style tubes that you apply directly to your lips are preferred over the "tub" style. Eye drops are to relieve dry eyes; please avoid sending eye drops designed to remove redness as those will increase dryness and irritation caused by sand and storms in a desert climate.
		Sunblock, Aloe Vera Throat Lozenges Gum, Lifesavers, Mints Eye Drops (to relieve dry eye, not redness) Blistex, Chapstick, Carmex (in stick-tubes rather than tubs) Aspirin, Motrin, Tylenol, Pain Relievers Saline spray/drops for sensitive nasal passages Q-tips Eyeglass wipes Feminine hygiene products for women Soldiers Jock itch spray Laundry soap tablets
Body Wipes and Hand Sanitizers…
	When the Soldiers are out in the field, facilities for showering and taking care of personal hygiene are infrequent and in many locations non-existent. Portable-sized packages of nonalcohol based baby wipes are in high demand for these Soldiers.
		Baby wipes for personal hygiene Waterless soap Liquid body wash Liquid hand sanitizers Disposable hand sanitizing wipes
Toiletry Items…
	Toiletries are not in as high a demand as they once were; however, we do have units at forward operating bases that still need the toiletries listed below:
		Toothpaste (in hard-side tubes rather than traditional tubes) Toothbrushes Nail clippers Shampoo Deodorant Liquid bodywash soap, liquid anti-bacterial soap (liquid is easier to use than bar soap) Waterless soap Lotion Disposable razors ShaveMan™ Battery Powered Shaver (About $5 at Wal-Mart and other discount stores) Mach3 Razors and replacement blades Kleenex (travel-size packets)