The city of Plano has partnered with the North Texas Food Bank for the September Peanut Butter Drive. An article from Community Impact dated September 14th reports,
“Plano is participating in North Texas Food Bank’s Peanut Butter Drive this September.
The nonprofit hosts the annual event during Hunger Action Month to raise awareness about food insecurity. Peanut butter is a highly needed, nonperishable, child-friendly and high-protein food, according to the food bank.”
Helping fight food insecurity isn’t the North Texas Food Bank’s only motivation in hosting this annual drive; their Peanut Butter Drive page on their website makes the following statement,
“Every September during Hunger Action Month, the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) creates awareness about food insecurity and hosts the Peanut Butter Drive which collects a shelf-stable, kid-friendly protein for our hungry neighbors. The goal for the 2021 drive is 300,000 pounds of peanut butter physically and virtually.”
A Dallas Morning News article dated September 15th reported data regarding food-insecure children in Dallas and Collin County as well as last year’s campaign data. The article reports,
“Based on data from 2019, Feeding America reports that almost 140,000 food-insecure children live in Dallas County, and 34,000 food-insecure children live in Collin County. Peanut butter is always in high demand at food banks because it’s both nutritious and high in protein.
Last year, the campaign raised more than 287,000 pounds of peanut butter.”
The Peanut Butter Drive is still ongoing, and donations can still be made in NTFB’s Plano Campus located at 3677 Mapleshade Lane. However, organizers have conveniently made donating and participating even more accessible by offering opportunities for local businesses also to become donation hubs. One woman commented in a Facebook post regarding this convenient feature,
“Dear Plano Businesses, did you know you can host a physical Peanut Butter Drive by collecting jars and dropping them off at NTFB’s Perot Family Campus? What a great way to bring traffic to your location and give people a convenient place to drop off their donations outside of normal business hours!”
The city of Plano sets an outstanding example in charity and community. The ongoing Peanut Butter Drive will undoubtedly help many of our local families, especially in these challenging times when so many are experiencing food insecurity.