Members of the local community pitched in this week to help with the Mothers of Preschoolers’ (MOPS) Full Tummies Project.

Organizer Andrea Hindmon said Friday that the organization has started ordering food from the Bay Area Food Bank in Mobile, which is part of the Feeding America group.

“This is a huge time and money saver for us,” she said. “We order several weeks at a time worth of food, and then have a big packing event day.”

The goal of the Full Tummies Project is to administer bags of food to help local students who need extra meals outside of school hours.

The program has been helping students for a year, and currently services 160 students at Andalusia, Opp, Straughn, Red Level and Pleasant Home.

This week, volunteers from the Andalusia First United Methodist Church helped with unloading the delivery.

Additionally, church members assisted in the afternoon, as well as high school students from Red Level High School’s JAG program. The greatest need has come from Red Level, where they drop off 60 bags each week. The other schools average about 25 bags each week, she said.

Hindmon said MOPS moms oversaw the process.

The help from the community was welcomed after Hindmon asked for the community’s help late last month.

Hindmon said members of the community were already helping deliver the bags to schools, including some high schoolers, Peer Helpers from LBWCC and others.

“Not only did we get all the food organized, but we packed several weeks worth of bags,” she said. “All the work (Thursday) was very appreciated and obviously necessary as we strive to make this worthy project a success. Thank you to so many community members for helping us make this possible.”

For more info, contact Hindmon at 334-222-3080 or email mops@gmail.com.