By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Alabaster’s pair of elementary schools are looking to help local families in need throughout the school year by holding food drives for certain items each month.

Meadow View Elementary and Creek View Elementary kicked off their joint food drives on Sept. 5, and will work all school year to help combat hunger in the community.

“We always do food drives for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there is a huge need all year,” said CVES PTO publicity coordinator Trisa Moutardier. “We reached out to the Meadow View PTO, and we are excited that they are going to do it too.”

Through the program, each school will pit the girls against the boys each month to see who can collect the most food to donate to Manna Charities, which gives food to families in need each Saturday.

Boys and girls will focus on different food items each month.

Boys will collect peanut butter in September, canned vegetables in October, boxed mashed potatoes in November, breakfast and granola bars in December, canned soup in January, canned beans in February, jelly in March and canned fruit in April.

Girls will collect jelly in September, canned fruit in October, boxed macaroni and cheese in November, cereal in December, canned soup in January, rice in February, peanut butter in March and canned vegetables in April.

“It’s something we wanted to do to give back to the community,” Moutardier said. “We just ask that parents have the items to school by the end of each month.”