Save Mart & Lucky Supermarkets Fight Summer Hunger with new
Peanut Butter with a Purpose Campaign
Spread the Love and Donate to Feed local Kids
Modesto, Calif.—Save Mart Supermarkets announced today that it has partnered with food banks throughout California and Northern Nevada to raise awareness of the struggle many families have feeding their children during the summer months. May 11-31 all Save Mart and Lucky stores throughout the region will be collecting peanut butter to help stock the pantries of local food banks. Giving this initiative a boost, Jif peanut butter has announced a buy-one, get-one promotion making it easy for families to donate a jar of peanut butter each time they purchase one.
In the summer, many families are left struggling to stretch already limited food budgets even further with yet another gap to fill. With kids not receiving School Lunch and holiday donations near depleted, local Food Banks are most desperate for food during the summer months. According to the USDA, more than 1 in 5 children live in a household that is food insecure. Peanut Butter was chosen because it is a high protein, shelf-stable food, often associated with children.
“Peanut Butter is a staple food that provides a good source of nutrition to the children we serve. Unfortunately, due to the rising cost of Peanut Butter it is not always readily available for us to give them. One jar of Peanut Butter can provide multiple meals to a child in need throughout the summer months,” explained “Mike Mallory, Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank of San Joaquin & Stanislaus Counties.”We are proud to partner with Jif and Save Mart for their first Peanut Butter with a Purpose Campaign.”
Child hunger is an especially critical issue when school is out in the summertime; many children no longer have access to free or reduced priced school meals. Research has shown that even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth may lead to reductions in physical growth and adversely affect brain development.
“No child should go hungry and sadly many do. As a food retailer we take our support of local food banks seriously and want to do all we can to ensure the families we serve have access to stable, nutritious meals. The peanut butter collected will be immediately distributed to local families in need,” Steve Junqueiro, COO of Save Mart.
For more information about the Peanut Butter with a Purpose initiative, please contact your local Feeding America food bank and Alicia Rockwell at (209) 548-6511.