The annual UF/IFAS Extension Peanut Butter Challenge ran from October 1 through October 31 this year, and our Orange County 4-H’ers took full advantage of lending their hands for larger service!
What is the Peanut Butter Challenge?
Each year UF/IFAS Extension and FAMU Extension team up to collect jars of peanut butter to donate to food pantries in their participating county. UF/IFAS Extension Orange County partners with Orange County Government to spread this contest across the whole county!
Besides UF/IFAS Extension Orange County being a collection site, we also teamed up with 12 Orange County Parks and Recreation centers, which were collection sites as well.
Find out more info about the challenge at this link.
What role do Orange County 4-H’ers play in the challenge?
Our Orange County 4-H youth are encouraged to participate in community service projects within their community clubs each year. The Peanut Butter Challenge is easy for clubs to participate in, as well as greatly benefits the members in need of our whole community.
Youth were given the option to participate, and many of our clubs opted to! We like to add an extra element of fun to the challenge by tracking how many ounces each club collects and awarding the highest collecting club a prize!
Besides the youth in 4-H community clubs putting in the work to collect peanut butter, our OC Leadership Club youth divided up the donation sites and made the deliveries themselves! They were responsible for boxing up the jars, loading them into a vehicle, transporting them, and unloading the jars at their designated food pantry. 
Where did the peanut butter go?
The peanut butter was divided up and donated to seven food pantries across Orange County. These included the Russell Home, Conway First United Methodist, Prince of Peace, Servants Heart Ministry, JFS Pearlman Food Pantry, IMPACT Center, and Pershing Panther Pantry.
How much peanut butter did we collect?
2023 Peanut Butter Challenge Totals
Total Ounces: 34,943
Total Pounds: 2,184
Total Jars: 1,372
4-H Clubs Contribution of the Total
Portion of Ounces: 13,868
Portion of Pounds: 867
Portion of Jars: 560
Who won the 4-H challenge?
Congratulations to OC Explorers 4-H club whose club members collected 6,609 ounces of peanut butter this year!
Keep an eye out for the challenge in the fall of next year and be sure to donate jars to UF/IFAS Extension Orange County or one of our Parks and Recreation partners through Orange County Government!
If your food pantry or organization is interested in receiving donated peanut butter next year, please contact Orange County 4-H at 407-254-9222.
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