Darryl Palmer

Okeechobee County took the peanut butter challenge to heart and once again, we spread the love one jar at a time. Okeechobee 4-H clubs teamed up with Okeechobee County Governmental offices and Okeechobee Christian Academy and collected unopened, unexpired jars of peanut butter equaling 1,342 pounds, beating last year’s giving total by 52 pounds. Way to go, Okeechobee!

These jars of peanut butter were distributed to local food pantries to help feed our community this winter. According to the National Peanut Board, the average person will eat 4.4 pounds of peanut butter a year. This means that our collection will feed over 300 people for the year.

The 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.

This year the challenge was in October, while some counties extended their collection deadline into November. During that time, 37 of Florida’s 67 counties participated, along with Florida A&M University and the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Statewide, the drive collected 44,564  pounds of peanut butter. Since 2020, participants have donated 212,860 pounds statewide.

OKEECHOBEE -- The Okeechobee community responded to the annual Peanut Butter Challenge by the Exctension Office -- donating enough jars to recreate the county seal in a display. At the end of the collection period, the jars are tallied, bragging rights are awarded to counties collecting the most peanut butter, and the jars go to local food pantries just in time for the holiday season. [Photo …