The Georgia peanut industry joins together to celebrate National Peanut Month in March and donate peanut butter to the Atlanta Community Food Bank
March is National Peanut Month, a time to celebrate one of America’s favorite foods! The Georgia peanut industry plans to celebrate by hosting the 2017 Georgia PB&J Day at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, and donating 12,000 jars of peanut butter to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The event kicks off Monday morning March 20, 2017, and will be held in the south wing of the Capitol from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. The peanut industry will have plenty of PB&Js, grilled PB&Js, country-fried peanuts, boiled peanuts and more.
A special program celebrating National Peanut Month will be held at 10:30 a.m. with special guests, Sen. John Wilkinson, chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, and Rep. Tom McCall, chairman of the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee.
“Peanuts are Georgia’s official state crop, and the state boasts the largest share of peanut production in the U.S. at nearly 50 percent for the 2016 crop,” says Armond Morris, chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission. “Georgia’s 3,500 peanut farmers contribute approximately $1.3 billion annually to the state and local economy.”
Sponsors and exhibitors include the Georgia Peanut Commission, National Peanut Buying Points Association, Kroger, Georgia Agribusiness Council, Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia Federal State Inspection Service, Hardy Farms, Peanut Proud, The Peanut Institute, University of Georgia Peanut Team and the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
The Georgia Peanut Commission and Peanut Proud will also donate 12,000 jars of peanut butter to the Atlanta Community Food Bank during the event. The Atlanta Community Food Bank provides food and grocery products to more than 600 nonprofit partner agencies with hunger relief programs throughout 29 counties in metro Atlanta and north Georgia. According to Ben Burgess, food sourcing specialist with the food bank, the need for food assistance is not going away.
“A recent study of our service area showed that 80,600 people are served each week by programs supported through the Atlanta Community Food Bank including food pantries, local community kitchens, women’s and children’s shelter, and homeless shelters among others. Peanut butter is a very nutritious and important product to those clients because it has a stable shelf life,” Burgess says. “One jar can make several meals for a family or individual in need. That means this donation will help the nearly 20 percent of Georgian residents and the one in four children in the state who are food insecure, meaning they don’t always know where their next meal is coming from.”
Coincidentally, March is National Nutrition Month – a great time to recognize the nutritional value of peanuts. One serving of peanuts is a good source of protein, vitamin E, niacin, folate, phosphorus and magnesium. Peanuts are naturally cholesterol-free and low in saturated fat.
For additional details on the 2017 PB&J Day, visit the Georgia Peanut Commission website at www.gapeanuts.com.