Peanut producers deliver help to Food Bank

Spread the news. Peanut butter is good for you.

That is the message the Alabama Peanut Producers Association hopes to send to the public through its recent donation of three pallets laden with jars of peanut butter to the Wiregrass Area United Way Food Bank. In all, 3,024 12-ounce jars of peanut butter were made available to each of Alabama’s eight food banks through the APPA donation.

“Everybody loves peanut butter,” said David Hanks, executive director of the Wiregrass Area United Way Food Bank, Monday morning as he accepted the donation from the APPA. “We’re so appreciative to accept this donation from the Alabama Peanut Producers Association.

“Peanut butter is a staple food. We don’t get a lot of protein products, especially meat products. Because peanut butter is high in protein, this is a very timely donation. This couldn’t have come at a better time.”

With the economy mired in a recession, Hanks says the Food Bank is being called on to do more. While that is not a problem at the present time, resources could be under stress in the future.

“Food Banks are being challenged all across the country,” Hanks continued. “We’ve had an increase (in demand) of 30 percent. Thank goodness, our supply is catching up with donations like this today.”

The peanut production industry was rocked with a salmonella outbreak at a processing plant in Georgia in the fall of 2008. Numerous peanut-based products were placed on FDA recall lists. The industry has worked diligently to allay consumer fears over peanut-based products.

Carl Sanders, president of the APPA, says that incident didn’t just harm consumers.

“The victim of the problem in one peanut-processing company was not just the consumer,” Sanders said. “The rest of the peanut-producing industry was also a victim.”

Through the donation made by the APPA to the Food Bank Monday, Sanders says the industry hopes the fears some consumers may still have can be put to rest.

“Peanut butter is as wholesome as ever,” Sanders said. “The industry’s self-imposed standards are more rigid than the government standards. Our industry errs on the side of caution to produce a good quality product.”

Sanders also noted that 50 percent of the peanuts grown in Alabama go toward the production of peanut butter.

“We’re bringing a wholesome product from our farms to your table,” Sanders added.

Funding for the donation was made possible through a grant from the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and Commissioner Ron Sparks. The city of Dothan, through Mayor Pat Thomas’ office, applied for the grant.

Thomas says he was happy to serve as a conduit to make the donation possible.
“What better place than the peanut capital of the world to make this happen,” Thomas said. “My hat’s off to all the partners that made this happen. This is a rebuilding day for the peanut industry and the Wiregrass Area United Way Food Bank and its recipients.”