Enjoying your coffee today? Men and women serving in the military oversees who rely on what they get from home most likely aren’t because Bob Williams is out of beans.

Williams, of Support Our Troops in Wesley Chapel, each week ships 300 pounds of donated coffee - and just about everything else he can get his hands on - to troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places in the world.

But his supply of donated coffee, which years ago arrived by the ton and filled aisles in his warehouse, has now been depleted.

Starbucks roasting plants once sent beans for shipment to troops, but tough economic times forced the company to cut back and close stores.

The reductions choked donations during the last year to a trickle, with only individual pound-sized bags donated by customers at Starbucks stores making up most of the coffee sent to troops.

His warehouse once was choked with giant rolling bins of bags. It’s kind of hard to believe it’s all gone. When I visited late last summer, I couldn’t imagine him ever going through it all.

Williams is inundated each week with e-mail requests sent from soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines for essential items. Today, he went hunting for 500 sets of sheets and pillow cases he could send to soldiers in Afghanistan who were issued mattresses but nothing to put on them.

“But coffee is still the No. 1 requested item and also the one that keeps them alert, for safety sake,” Williams says.

To compensate this week, Williams went to Sam’s Club to buy 50 pounds so he could stuff it into care packages.

“Unfortunately, when you send that much coffee, you blow through it,” he says. “One box I send can serve 5,000 people on a base.”

Convoys leaving the perimeter of forward operating bases usually depart with canisters of hot or cold coffee, depending on the weather. Commanders have told Williams during homecomings he has attended that the donated coffee has kept their soldiers alive.

“If you’re driving along in a Humvee, you don’t want to look for tripwires half-asleep,” Williams says.

Their alternative to the java sent from home is Taster’s Choice dehydrated crystals contained their MREs.

“They don’t even bother to use water,” Williams says. “They just throw the packet in their mouth and swallow it for the caffeine.”

Soldiers frequently e-mail notes of gratitude each week for the packages they receive. Some send photos of their children. Some e-mail photos of themselves in battle gear enjoying the gifts he’s sent. Other photos are clearly shared by soldiers with someone who appreciates life in uniform.

This photo on his wall was my favorite:

Nothing like eating breakfast from the shovel you used to dig your foxhole and latrine.

Others send souvenirs from the field or challenge coins (above) as tokens of their appreciation. One group who got a box of cinnamon buns e-mailed pictures of each person posing with the pastries.

In addition to posting them online, Williams e-mails the thank-you notes to a chain of friends as soon as he gets them. One note which struck me came in March from a soldier named David Ruiz, who wrote:

“I recieved the care packages you sent and distributed them to the company. They all say thank you for your support for the kind heart of sending those items for us. Everyone got something they can use. I definately appreciate the help.  Here I am sending you a picture on my way to Taji for a mission last month.”

For soldiers like Ruiz, Williams says, coffee is now the priority.

“If people want to buy a bag or a group wants to get together and buy, we would just love to have it,” he says.

What type of coffee do his recipients prefer?

“Caffeinated,” Williams says. “The stronger the better.”

To donate coffee, mail it to: Support Our Troops, Bob Williams, PO Box 7560, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544

To donate coffee in person, the address is: 29807 SR 54, Wesley Chapel, FL 33543

For information: (800) 367-3591.