Some Kona coffee, a Hawaiian CD, macadamia nuts, rice, pictures of Hawai'i — those are just some of the items hoping to be collected through Operation Homefront for deployed troops.

Today marks the beginning of the operation with collection boxes at all five Lex Brodie's locations and the Pearl Harbor NEX. Donations will be collected through the end of May, which is Military Appreciation Month, and all of the aloha care packages will be shipped on June 8 so deployed troops will have the items by the Fourth of July.

Over the Christmas and New Year's holidays, more than a ton and a half of aloha items were collected and sent overseas.

The goal of Operation Homefront is to send deployed troops items that remind them of their home in the Pacific, be it food, drinks, smells, or items such as Hawai'i calendars.

Today's drive at the Pearl Harbor NEX starts at 10 a.m.

For more information,visit www.operationhomefront.net/hawaii.