Released: May 20, 2021

TIFTON, Ga. – To celebrate the beginning of the 2021 peanut season, Georgia’s 4,500 peanut farmers are donating an additional 50,400 jars of peanut butter to America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, Feeding the Valley Food Bank, the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, Golden Harvest Food Bank, and Middle Georgia Community Food Bank through a partnership with the Georgia Food Bank Association. A donation of 20,160 jars of peanut butter have already been distributed to the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Second Harvest of South Georgia in March.

The donation is made possible by the Georgia Peanut Commission through Peanut Proud, the peanut industry’s humanitarian relief organization. Georgia-based truckload carrier, SouthernAG Carriers, graciously donated their trucking services to deliver the peanut butter. The peanut butter is manufactured with Georgia-grown peanuts by Tara Foods in Albany, Georgia.

“As a farmer, we are proud to partner with Georgia food banks to help feed more of our neighbors in need during this time of uncertainty for many families,” says Armond Morris, chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission. “Peanut butter is one of the most requested food items at food banks due to its shelf life. Peanuts are a nutritional superfood which contain more protein than any other nut, as well as a good source of vitamin E and folate.”

The Georgia Food Bank Association is comprised of seven Feeding America affiliated food banks that serve 133 counties in Georgia. Their network of food banks distributed over 180 million pounds of food in 2020 through more than 2,000 partner agencies to children, seniors, and families struggling with hunger.

“We are grateful to partner with the Georgia Peanut Commission and Peanut Proud to help feed more struggling Georgians during these difficult times,” said Callie Roan, Corporate Partnerships Manager of the Georgia Food Bank Association. “Georgia’s food banks have been responding to a sustained 50% increase in the need for food assistance in Georgia since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This donation of protein-rich peanut butter will contribute greatly to the food banks’ shared mission of ending hunger in our state.”

Peanuts are Georgia’s official state crop, and the state boasts the largest share of peanut production in the U.S. at nearly 53 percent for the 2020 crop. Georgia’s 4,500 peanut farmers contribute approximately $2 billion annually to the state and local economy.

The non-profit organization, Peanut Proud, Inc., serves as the humanitarian relief organization for the peanut industry. Volunteers participate in food drives to collect peanut butter and donations are made by individuals, organizations and businesses to assist with peanut butter donations to food banks. Donations are accepted at any time for Peanut Proud and are tax deductible. Contributions can be mailed to: Peanut Proud Inc., P.O. Box 446, Blakely Georgia, 39823. For additional information on the peanut industry’s humanitarian relief project, visit www.peanutproud.org.

Additional information about the Georgia Food Bank Association and its member food banks is available online at www.georgiafoodbankassociation.org. Information about the Georgia Peanut Commission is available at www.gapeanuts.com.

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