Donate Now: Annual Peanut Butter Challenge Is Underway

November 2, 2021

The annual Peanut Butter Challenge is still underway in Escambia County help families in need, and along the way promote peanuts.

The Peanut Butter Challenge, UF/IFAS Extension’s annual jar collection for local food pantries, first launched in the Florida Panhandle in 2012. It has since launched statewide, giving counties the chance to compete for most jars of peanut butter donated. The challenge serves a way to feed hungry families ahead of the holidays and also promotes peanuts grown in Florida.

Unopened jars of peanut butter can be donated at the following locations through November 24:

  • Escambia County Extension, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment
  • Escambia County Farm Bureau, 153 Highway 97, Molino
  • Escambia County Public Safety, 6575 North W Street
  • Holy Cross Episcopal Church, 7979 North Ninth Avenue
  • Gilmore Services, 31 East Fairfield Drive
  • Escambia County Administration, 221 Palafox Place, 4th Floor
  • Pensacola City Hall, 222 West Main Street,
  • Holy Spirit Catholic, 10650 Gulf Beach Highway
  • Perdido Bay United Methodist Church, 13360 Innerarity Point Road,
  • Pensacola Beach Visitors Information, 7 Casino Beach Boardwalk, Pensacola Beach

“We are always impressed and touched by the communities’ grassroots support for this program,” said Libbie Johnson, agricultural agent for UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County and co-organizer of the challenge since its inception. “The peanut industry is a great contributor to our state, but this event also shows how the nutritious food it produces can help our fellow community members who may be struggling.”

In addition to the community donations, the Florida Peanut Producers Association (FPPA) and Florida Peanut Federation (FPF) have partnered with the project for years. These organizations are based in the northwest and northeast peanut-producing regions of the state and will again contribute to the totals distributed to food pantries in those regions.

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.

Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News