A rain barrel painted like a peanut butter jar. Wearable, human-sized slices of “bread” featuring brown and purple smears. Colorful jar lids arranged in the shape of Florida.
Participants of the 13th annual UF/IFAS Peanut Butter Challenge expressed their enthusiasm for the competition in myriad ways. But the size of their record-breaking haul, calculated last week, gives them every right to get nutty: 30,831 containers of peanut butter, the equivalent of 39,898 pounds.
“We are truly grateful to all the people across the state who’ve donated jars of peanut butter,” said Andra Johnson, dean for UF/IFAS Extension. “Every year, the challenge grows bigger and bigger, and it’s especially gratifying to support people in need in our local communities with a nutritious food source made from peanuts that are grown right here in Florida.”
The Peanut Butter Challenge is a collaborative effort of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, with support from the Florida Peanut Federation, the Florida Peanut Producers Association and community partners throughout the state. UF/IFAS Extension offices in the Panhandle launched the competition in 2012 to provide hungry residents with shelf-stable, protein-rich food before the winter holidays. It has since spread to 40 of Florida’s 67 counties, and since 2020, participants have donated 168,538 pounds of peanut butter to food pantries around the state.
When the triple-whammy effect of hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton strained the state’s food pantries this year, Peanut Butter Challenge organizers extended the collection deadline by three weeks. They ultimately amassed 10,000 pounds more peanut butter in 2024 compared to 2023.
Orange County collected the most peanut butter, 3,772 containers weighing a total of 5,065 pounds. That’s a new record for a single county.
Kevin Camm, UF/IFAS Extension Orange County director, credited his employees and Florida 4-H members, as well as county employees and the Orange County Farm Bureau, for the milestone. Local children also contributed; one middle school donated more than 700 jars of peanut butter.
“Although the peanut butter is ultimately the star of the show, the challenge is about the energy of bringing a community together,” Camm said. “Each action by everyone who donated added up to something very, very extraordinary.”
Camm said his target for next year’s challenge is 6,000 pounds of peanut butter.
“We’ve got some tricks up our sleeve,” he said. “I don’t want to give it all away. In true Extension fashion, let me test my procedure, and then I’ll share the results so others can replicate.”
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ABOUT UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.
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