Emily Beach
Contributor
The Peanut Butter Challenge is an annual jar collection for local food pantries hosted by UF/IFAS Extension and lasts from Saturday, Oct. 1, until Monday, Oct. 31. Launched in the Florida Panhandle counties in 2012, it is again spreading statewide this year! Lafayette County drop-off points in Mayo for unopened jars of peanut butter are:
• Lafayette County UF/IFAS Extension Office, 176 SW Community •Cir.
• Mayo Thriftway, 294 W Main St.
• Lafayette Elementary School is also having a school-wide competition between homeroom classes, and the highest collector will receive a party with their treat of choice!
Coordinated by UF/IFAS Extension faculty, staff and volunteers, the competition among counties – for bragging rights only – was conceived as a way to feed hungry families ahead of the holidays in addition to promoting a Florida-grown crop. The peanut, which is produced mainly throughout the northern regions of the state, contributed $119 million to the state economy in 2019, according to the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service.
Peanut butter is an ever-popular item in food pantries for its nutrient density and shelf stability. The project took on new meaning in 2020, as it spread statewide for the first time as demand for food bank assistance had increased as an economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest numbers from the United States Department of Agriculture show food insecurity affected roughly one in 10 Floridians in 2020.
In addition to the community donations, Florida Peanut Federation (FPF) has partnered with the project for years. This organization is based in the northeast peanut-producing region of the state and will again contribute to the totals distributed to food pantries in our region.
In the 2020 Peanut Butter Challenge, the first year the event was conducted statewide, participating UF/IFAS Extension county offices received over 27,000 total pounds of peanut butter. Last year’s totals saw an increase by two-thirds, with over 45,000 pounds collected.
Please help Lafayette County in its collection this year to be the highest in the state, and be able to send those donations to its local backpack program for Lafayette County students to have this nutritious commodity in their homes.