It means a lot when any soldier receives a package sent from the United States loaded with treats to remind him of home.

82 year-old Don Downer has sent more than 1,400 such packages to American troops deployed overseas and was honored in Maryland recently as Howard County's Volunteer of the Year.

Downer has been sending care packages since 2008, filling them with snacks like candy and chips as well as other items such as books and wool hats. His trademark? Inside every one is a can of Spam, the iconic low-cost canned meat product made in America since the late 1940s.

(READ the story in Patch.com)