March 9, 2010 | tagged Care packages, Free, Mail Boxed Set: Get a free military care package kit
If there’s one thing that is always in demand in our military household, it’s a sturdy care package box. Actually, make that two things: a care package box and chocolate. Both, I’ve found, are necessities when a loved one is deployed. The U.S. Postal Service can fill one of those needs.
A free Military Care Kit is available to anyone who will be shipping goodies overseas using Priority Mail to our service members. The kit includes:
- 6 flat-rate Priority Mail boxes (medium and large sizes)
- 1 roll of packing tape
- 6 address labels
- 6 customs declarations forms with envelopes
Bake it, box it, ship it! When you order a free Military Care Kit, all that is missing from your care packages are some homemade cookies. Peanut butter blossoms, perhaps?
You can order the kit by phone only. Call the Postal Service’s Expedited Package Supply Center at 1-800-610-8734 to request a Military Care Kit. (From the automated list of options, choose “1” when asked if you would like to “place a order for Express Mail, Priority Mail, or Global Express Guaranteed products.”) You will need to provide your name and mailing address so your mail carrier can deliver the kit.
The kit is free, and there is no delivery charge. You don’t need to be in the military or be an immediate family member of someone in the military to order the Military Care Kit. Cousins, coworkers, friends, and friends-of-friends can request kits. Just remember: Uncle Sam will send you free packing and shipping materials, but you still must pay the required postage to send your care packages to that special someone.
Military morsel: Let’s break down military postal addresses. “APO” stands for Army/Air Force Post Office; it delivers to members of the Army and Air Force. “FPO” stands for Fleet Post Office; it delivers mail to Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine personnel. You can only ship items to APO/FPO addresses using the U.S. Postal Service; you can’t use private carriers such as FedEx.
Reader Comments (8)
What wonderful info to pass on! Thank you!
Thanks for the info! I'll be needing it soon with a deployment in the near future.
While you are correct that you can only order this kit by phone, you can order the supplies for free online at US Postal Service website here. The boxes are under the Flat-rate section and you can order in packages of 10 or 25 boxes. The customs forms and customs form envelopes are under Forms.
You can also save yourself some time by prepaying and printing the label online using Click-and-Ship. The usps store site sells the labels, but really you can use any 1/2-page letter size label (Avery 8126) this at Staples. Plus, USPS gives you a discount for paying for the postage online.
Just found this wonderful web site and can hardly wait to get my boxes!! Keep up the great work.
While the picture shows they give you a roll of tape, the PO has ended this practice. Instead they give you a fairly large quantity of Priority Mail stickers. There are three to a strip which is about 8" long. They seem to be paper rather than the sturdy roll of tape so chalk it up to them deciding to go the cheap route. THEY still use the tape at the counter but we only get the strips of labels
Rick,
Thanks for your comment! I was curious, so I ordered another military care kit last week. It arrived November 22, 2010, and it did include a roll of packing tape, although it was a much smaller roll than the one (pictured above) I received a few months ago. Still, it was packing tape and not the stickers that you received.
I called the U.S. Postal Service, and a customer service agent told me that while tape is still included in the military kits, it is a smaller roll that provides just enough tape for the six boxes in the kit. (That, of course, doesn’t explain why you got tape instead of stickers.) It sounds like there are rumblings about discontinuing all tape in the military kits. We will keep you posted if we hear anything more.
Hi, my boyfriend just deployed to Afghanistan. I will be traveling to the Philippines and I am wanting to send him a care package from there. I read that food is prohibited or that they need to cleared by the FDA prior to sending. Do you have any knowledge on the restrictions about sending from the Philippines. Your response is much appreciated.
Hi Val,
You can certainly send food to your deployed boyfriend! One of the few food items that is prohibited is pork, in deference to the religious beliefs of the region. You also can't send alcohol. But you do not need to have FDA clearance to send a regular care package of cookies and other goodies. Of course, this is when sending from the United States; I'm not sure if there are different regulations if you're mailing a package from the Philippines. Check out our "9 Most Wanted Care Package Items (and 3 things to skip)." Good luck!
Christine Hofmann-Bourque, TheStrengthBehindtheStrong.com