CLERMONT — In the early morning hours of Aug. 14, more than 45,000 pounds of sweet potatoes were dropped off in the parking lot of the Westminster Care Center of Clermont. Within a few hours, nearly 150 volunteers from 22 different churches had bagged the potatoes and sent them on to homeless shelters, crisis centers and food banks throughout Central Florida.

A team of 11 youth and adults from First United Methodist Church, Clermont, and a father and his two sons from First United Methodist Church, Orlando were among the volunteers that sorted, bagged and loaded the potatoes onto trucks, vans and trailers.

"The Great Potato Drop" was coordinated by the Florida regional office of the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA), a ministry based in Big Island, Va., that salvages food, then gives it to groups that run feeding programs.

"We have two goals," Dick Mead, SoSA’s Florida state regional director, said. "We keep food from going to waste and feed hungry people."

The sweet potatoes dropped in Clermont came from a farm in Snow Hill, N.C., and although still edible, they were either too large or too small by United States Department of Agriculture’s standards to be sold on the market, according to Mead.

"These potatoes would have gone to a landfill," he said. "A few have nicks or dings, but they’re still okay."

Rotten potatoes, however, did present a problem for some of the youth from First United Methodist Church, here. Heather Douridas, a 12-year-old member of the church’s youth group, said it seemed like every potato she picked up was rotten.

"This is the grossest thing I’ve ever done," she said. "It’s for people that need it. It’s worth it knowing that people are going to appreciate that you’re doing this."

Aaron Elsworth, 13, said although sorting potatoes was dirty work, he enjoyed seeing so many different people getting together to do the work.

"It’s cool," he said, "helping out hungry people, and doing it in God’s name."

Seth Johnson, assistant youth minister at the Clermont church, said he was pleased with the youth’s reaction to the mission project.

"It’s just a good thing to do on a Saturday morning, to get out and help the community," he said, adding that attendance is always higher on mission days than at regular meetings. "They always come out to work," he said.

This event was designed to help feed the hungry, but also to raise awareness of SoSA’s ministry in Central Florida, according to Hank Bruce, program coordinator for Florida. He said he felt the event was a success on both counts.