UF/IFAS, Communities to Team Up Again for Annual Peanut Butter Challenge

Dan Florida, Industry News Release, Peanuts

Start spreading the news – and the peanut butter! From Oct. 1 to Nov. 21, you can donate unopened jars of peanut butter to hungry Panhandle families through the Peanut Butter Challenge, a project coordinated by UF/IFAS Extension faculty and volunteers.

challengeDuring those dates, you may drop off jars at your UF/IFAS Extension county office. UF/IFAS Extension works with the Florida Peanut Producers Association to send the peanut butter to food pantries from Pensacola to Monticello.

Since 2012, the volunteers and UF/IFAS Extension faculty have collected thousands of jars of peanut butter from residents, volunteer groups and businesses in 16 northwest Florida counties. Last year, UF/IFAS Extension county offices received 6,222 jars of peanut butter, said Libbie Johnson, agricultural agent for UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County and co-organizer of the Challenge.

In addition to these donations, the Florida Peanut Producers Association also contributes, supplying more than 3,000 jars each Challenge, Johnson said.

Why peanut butter? In addition to feeding the hungry a nutrient-packed spread, peanuts are a major crop in the Panhandle.

“The Peanut Butter Challenge not only raises awareness about the important contribution of North Florida’s peanut growers to the state peanut industry, but also helps provide a healthy, locally produced product to food-insecure families in northwest Florida,” said Johnson.

Source: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences