By Susan Misur, Register Staff
smisur@nhregister.com

To some, it’s just coffee. To deployed soldiers, it’s so much more.

That’s the reason, according to Tom Jastermsky, that the First Congregational Church in Wallingford has collected coffee for troops through its Holy Joe’s Café since 2006. And over Memorial Day weekend, volunteers will be collecting bagged regular coffee — not decaf — and money in front of The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana on Wooster Street in New Haven.

Holy Joe’s Café members, along with North Haven Sons & Daughters of Italy Lodge 2805, will be there from noon to 9 p.m. Friday through Monday. Any money collected will go to buying industrial-strength Keurig brewer systems. Shipping costs are usually donated.

Holy Joe’s Café started after a member of the church was deployed to Iraq and sent word back that military chaplains were out of coffee.

“It’s 105 degrees out there, and they have 16-hour shifts. ... You’re in a war zone and you’re away from every support link back home,” Jastermsky said. “So, over there, it (a cup of coffee) keeps them going. It’s the only thing, a lot time, that they look forward to all day, and it reminds them of home.”

Recently, Holy Joe’s Café sent 40 pallets, or 17,500 pounds, of Green Mountain Coffee to Afghanistan, Jastermsky said. That should cover about one quarter of the troops there for two to three months, he said.

Here is video of a coffee delivery last week:



Since the effort began, 117 tons of coffee have been shipped to U.S. troops. That is about 23 million cups of coffee, Jastermsky said.

For more information, visit www.holyjoescafe.org. To contribute, call Jastermsky at 203-859-0031.

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