A record number of jars of peanut butter were donated to The Mustard Seed Food Bank in the fifth annual Project Peanut Butter campaign. In the last six weeks, over 2,700 jars were collected and will now go to local families.
The campaign is run by Island Nut Roastery, Merry Maids of Victoria, and a new partner, Pepper’s Foods.
READ ALSO: Government grants and donations allow Mustard Seed to purchase food distribution centre
The event started in 2015 and grows every year, says Matt Tanner, an employee at his family’s company, Merry Maids.
“We’ve raised almost 8,000 in total,” he says.
Each of the three partnering companies donates one jar of peanut butter for every jar donated by the public, he explains. “So one jar equals four.”
The Merry Maids volunteers also cleans the church facility while the jars are being piled up in front of the building.
Peanut butter is an important resource, says Ducan Chalmers, Grant Writer at The Mustard Seed. Peanut butter is full of protein and it lasts a long time as it’s non-perishable. The food bank doesn’t often have peanut butter on their shelves, but if they do, it doesn’t stay there for long due to it’s popularity.
READ ALSO: Victoria’s Jill Van Gyn of FATSO peanut butter to appear on Dragon’s Den
“This is great because this time of year the donations dip,” says Chalmers. “This shores up [our] stocks.”
The 2,700 jars will likley fly off the shelves in just a few weeks, he explains.
The Mustard Seed serves low-income individuals in Victoria. Over 1,000 families access the food bank each month.
@devonscarlettdevon.bidal@saanichnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
