Georgia Celebrates National Peanut Month with PB&J Day, Donations
Alexandria, VA (PRWEB) February 27, 2015 -- March is National Peanut Month and Georgia, the United States’ number one peanut producing state, will help launch the celebration with its annual PB&J day on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 in Atlanta, GA.
The 2015 Georgia PB&J Day will be held in the south wing of the Georgia State Capitol from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. A special program celebrating National Peanut Month will begin at 10:30 am with notable 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.
The Georgia Peanut Commission and Peanut Proud will also donate 10,080 jars of peanut butter to the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) during the event. ACFB provides food and grocery products to more than 600 nonprofit partner agencies with hunger relief programs throughout metro Atlanta and north Georgia. It is estimated that over 80,000 people are served each week by programs supported by ACFB.
With a retail value of $10,150, these peanut butter donations will help those individuals and programs in need. And, since March is also National Nutrition Month, the donations are a particularly appropriate time to recognize peanut butter’s inherently nutritious profile. Ben Burgess, food sourcing specialist with ACFB, says, “Peanut butter is a very nutritious and important product to those clients because it has a stable shelf life…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.”
Event sponsors and exhibitors include the Georgia Peanut Commission, National Peanut Buying Points Association, The Peanut Institute, Kroger, Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia Agribusiness Council, Georgia Grinders, Hardy Farms, Peanut Proud, Southern Peanut Growers, University of Georgia Extension Peanut Team and the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
For more information on the 2015 PB&J Day, visit the Georgia Peanut Commission’s website at http://www.gapeanuts.com.
Peanut Butter for the Hungry is an initiative of the U.S. peanut industry to help severely malnourished children around the world. This initiative, which is administered by the American Peanut Council, supports the manufacture and use of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), a simple but effective mixture of peanut paste, powdered milk, vitamins and minerals, in addition to the donation of shelf stable peanut butter to food banks throughout the United States. Peanuts are naturally cholesterol-free and are a good source of protein, vitamin E, niacin, folate, phosphorus and magnesium.
Visit http://www.peanutbutterforthehungry.org to learn more about Peanut Butter for the Hungry.
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Erica Davies, American Peanut Council, http://www.peanutbutterforthehungry.org, +1 (703) 838-9500, [email protected]
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