DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) — This year’s National Peanut Festival contestants worked together on a group service project aimed at helping families across the Wiregrass.
The 99 contestants collected nonperishable food items during their practices at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds and assembled more than 150 meal kits, each designed to provide a complete meal for a family of four.
The contestants gathered ingredients for several family-friendly meals, including chicken pot pie, walking tacos, chicken and rice, peanut butter and jelly, and spaghetti supper.
Justin McNelley with the Wiregrass Area Food Bank joined the contestants Saturday at the Summerford Building at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds to accept the donated meals on behalf of the food bank.
The food collection was a group service project for this year’s contestants and was completed in addition to each contestant’s individual Community Service Initiative.
Through those individual initiatives, contestants identify causes and needs that are meaningful to them and find ways to serve their own communities.
During each practice, contestants were assigned specific ingredients to contribute to the project. Organizers said the effort gave the contestants an opportunity to work together toward a common goal while seeing how individual acts of service can make a larger impact.
The completed project represents enough food to provide more than 600 servings to families in need across the Wiregrass.
