13th October 2009

A number of growers in Hawaii's famous Kona growing region have been donating coffee to US service people in Iraq and Afghanistan since early last year, a report in the Honolulu Advertiser said in mid-October.

Greenwell Farms, Captain Cook Coffee Co, Kona Mountain Coffee and Arianna Farms are among the major donors of the coffee, in conjunction with troop support organisation Gathering of Eagles in Hawaii, according to the report.

Since February of last year, close to 4,000 pounds of coffee has been donated to US service units operating in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Robert Gowan, a trucker who transports Kona coffee, is responsible for initiating the ongoing effort, the report said, and he has been supported by many of the growers on the Big Island.

Gowan's organisation has already sent close to 900 boxes of Kona coffee to the two fields of operation, the report added, primarily to forces units -- in the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines -- based in Hawaii.