Church collects double-stuffed care packages for troops

By Caroline Gray
cgray@neighbornewspapers.com

A fortuitous meeting on an airplane has led to a church crusade to send some All-American treats to troops abroad.

Thinking he was just flying to a golfing vacation in Scottsdale, Ariz., Alpharetta First United Methodist Church Senior Pastor Don Martin discovered he was in for more than just teeing off. Seated next to an Army captain who was just returning home from service in Iraq, Martin quickly struck up a conversation with the young soldier.

Martin learned the captain was trained to use robots to detonate improvised explosion devices before they could hurt soldiers and then use the forensic evidence to find suspects in surrounding villages. He then asked the soldier a usual question, but received an unusual answer.

“I asked him, ‘What’s the one thing you missed most while you were in Iraq?’ And without any hesitation he said, ‘Oreos. Double-stuffed.’ Well, I thought that was so funny I promised to ask the congregation to bring in Double Stuf Oreos to send overseas,” said Martin.

The idea that started out of admiration for a soldier who risks his life to save other soldiers’ lives has caught on like wildfire at the church. Martin said he has already collected 150 packs of Double Stuf Oreos from church members and hopes to collect 1,000 packs to send to Iraq.
“I wish I could take a pack of Oreos to every soldier in the Middle East myself and thank them for their service,” said Martin. “But at least that’s one of the neat things about Oreos – they travel well.”

Sunbelt Office Products has offered to supply all the packing materials, trucks and drivers to deliver the Oreos to be shipped. The receiver and Oreo distributor will be Command Sergeant Major Frank Leota in Diyala, the first province north of Baghdad.

The main collection day for the Oreos will be Sunday at the church’s annual patriotic service. All members have been asked to bring as many packs of Double Stuf Oreos as they can to be donated to the troops.

Martin said he still has hopes that Oreo manufacturer Kraft Nabisco will get in on the action and agree to match the congregation’s donation. And they need not worry that Martin will be tempted to sample the cookies himself.

“One member brought a box of Oreos and said it was just for the office staff, so we’re eating those,” he said. “Besides, I have promised myself not to touch one donated Oreo that is meant for the troops.”

Alpharetta First United Methodist Church is at 69 N Main Street.
Information: (770) 475-5576 or
www.afumc.org.