There is nothing worse than finding a great coupon only to realize that it has already expired. While the automatic reaction is to toss it into the trash, before your do consider giving it new life by sending it to military families overseas.
Military commissaries overseas accept manufacturer cents-off coupons for up to six months past their printed expiration dates. That means that coupons that are useless to you can still save oversea military families some money. By simply sending any expired coupons you have to
select bases overseas that want and need the coupons, you can help out military families save money on everyday groceries.
You can contribute coupons as an individual or organize a group to help out in sending coupons. Either way, it doesn't take much effort to make a difference and help the military families save some money. Coupon inserts from a typical Sunday paper have over $100 worth of coupons so simply collecting these can be a great help.
Before sending the coupons, you will want to contact the base to see if they have any specific preferences in the way the coupons are sent. Most military bases receiving the coupons ask that you neatly clip the coupons (which you will want to do anyway to save on postal charges) and sort them into "food" and "non-food" categories. The "food" category should contain coupons for anything that humans would eat while the "non-food" category would be everything else (pet food coupons would be considered an "non food" item)
Once separated, add up the value of all the coupons in each category. Place the coupons from each category into a zip lock plastic bag and write the category and the dollar value of all the coupons on the outside of the bag in permanent ink.
There are a number of ways to send the coupons to the bases. The cheapest is by "Parcel Post". If you chose to send the coupons this way, make sure that the coupons have not been expired for more than two months since Parcel Post takes quite a long time to travel to its destination.
For more complete information on the Overseas Coupon Program, you can visit their website at
ocpnet.org. The site also provides the following list of military bases that accept the expired grocery coupons:
Alconbury, U.K. - U.S. Air Force
RAF Alconbury
423 ABS/DPF
APO AE 09470
Ansbach, Germany - U.S. Army
CAFAP
ACS - 235th BSB
Unit 28614
APO AE 09177
Atsugi, Japan - U.S. Navy
U.S. Naval Air Facility
Navy FSC
PSC 477 Box 32
FPO AP 96306
Bad Aibling, Germany - U.S. Army
CAFAP - ACS
CMR 407
APO AE 09098
Bamburg, Germany - U.S. Army
ACS - 279th BSB
Unit 27535
APO AE 09139
Brussels, Belgium - U.S. Army
CAFAP - ACS
Unit 21420, Box 6675
APO AE 09705
(this base is actively seeking coupons)
Darmstadt, Germany - U.S. Army
CAFAP
ACS - 233rd BSB
CMR 441
APO AE 09175
Gaeta, Italy - U.S.Navy
Volunteer Coordinator
Navy FSC
PSC 811
FPO AE 09609
Giessen, Germany - U.S. Army
Outreach Program Coordinator
ACS - 284th BSB
Unit 20911, Box 132
APO AE 09169
(this base is actively seeking coupons)
Grafenwoehr, Germany - U.S. Army
ACS - 409th BSB
ATTN: AETTG-SB-CFA-ACS
APO AE 09114
Hanau, Germany - U.S. Army
CAFAP
ACS - 414th BSB
APO AE 09165
Ikego, Japan - U.S. Navy
COMFLEACT DET.
FSC
PSC 474, Box 700
FPO AP 96351-0007
(this base is actively seeking coupons)
Illesheim, Germany - U.S. Army
Coupon Program Chairperson
ACS - Illesheim AST
CMR 416, Box I
APO AE 09140-0015
(this base is actively seeking coupons)
Incirlik, Turkey - U.S. Air Force
39 MSS/MSF
ATTN: Family Services
Unit 8790, Box 175
APO AE 09824
Iwakuni, Japan - U.S. Marine Corps
USMC Community Services
ATTN: 5PSVC
PSC 561, Box 1867
FPO AP 96310-1867
Kitzigen, Germany - U.S. Army
417th BSB ACS
ATTN: Coupon Exchange
CMR 449
APO AE 09031
Lakenheath, U.K. - U.S. Air Force
48 MSS/DPF
ATTN: Coupon Connection Program
Unit 5200, Box 105
APO AE 09464-0105
Naples, Italy - U.S. Navy
Director, Navy FSC
PSC 810, Box 53
FPO AE 09619
Okinawa, Japan - U.S. Army
Volunteer/Outreach Coordinator
ACS - 10th ASG
Unit 35115
APO AP 96376-5115
Okinawa, Japan - U.S. Air Force
Family Services Program
18 MSS/DPF
Unit 5134, Box 80
APO AP 96368-5134
Osan, Korea - U.S. Air Force
Family Support Center
51st MSS PACAF
Unit 2097
APO AP 96278-2097
Rota, Spain - U.S. Navy
Navy_Marine Corps Relief Society
Rota Office, Spain
PO BOX 2002 UNIT 50085
Fleet Post Office AE 09645
Sasebo, Japan - U.S. Navy
Navy FSC
ATTN: Coupon Dist.
PSC 476, Box 62
FPO AP 96322-1114
(this base is actively seeking coupons)
Schweinurt, Germany - U.S. Army
ACS, 280th BSB
ATTN: AETV-WG-SJD
CMR 457
APO AE 09033
(this base is actively seeking coupons)
Sigonella, Sicily - U.S. Navy
Director
Navy FSC
PSC 824, Box 2650
FPO AE 09627-2650
Spangdahlem, Germany - U.S. Air Force
52 MSS/DPF
Unit 3655, Box 65
APO AE 09126
Vicenza, Italy - U.S. Army
CAFAP
ACS
CMR 427, Box 19
APO AE 09630
(this base is actively seeking coupons)
Vilseck, Germany - U.S. Army
Director
ACS - 281st BSB
ATTN: AETV-CFA-ACS
Unit 28038
APO AE 09112
Yokohama, Japan - U.S. Navy
COMFLEACT DET.
FSC
PSC 472 Box 8
FPO AP 96348-1150
Yokosuka, Japan - U.S. Navy
Coupon Distribution
COMFLEACT
Family Service Center
PSC 473, Box 116
FPO AP 96349-0116
Yokota, Japan - U.S. Navy
Navy FSC
374th MSSQ/MSF
APO AP 96328-5000