The Dartmouth Police Department has saved South Coast children from additional cavities by shipping 224 pounds of candy overseas.

The department put a call out on social media for Halloween candy with the intention to ship it to soldiers overseas. The initiative — which is part of a national program titled “Operation Gratitude” that sends packages to soldiers — was picked up locally by Dispatcher Patrick Mendonca, who then collected 224 pounds of candy.

The collection ended on November 15, but donations beforehand included seven boxes of candy from the East Fairhaven School — which Mendonca and Detective Kyle Costa picked up on November 7 — and monetary contributions to ship the candy.

The collection started with a black jack-o-lantern for candy donations in the department’s headquarters on Russells Mills Road, but police soon had to upgrade to a box as donations poured in, according to the department's Facebook page.