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Bank of North Georgia Collects 2,861 Jars of Peanut Butter and Jelly to Benefit Local Food Banks

Bank of North Georgia had tremendous success in hosting its second annual ‘Back to School Peanut Butter and Jelly Food Drive’ to benefit 27 local food banks near its 44 offices in metro Atlanta.

The timing was perfect with the busy school year kicking off at most area schools in early August. In total, the bank collected 2,861 jars at 4,624 pounds, which is almost two and half tons of PB&J. That is enough to make more than 36,995 sandwiches for children in metro Atlanta (with approximately two ounces of PB&J spread on each sandwich)! Creamy peanut butter was the clear winner over crunchy and the bank received more grape jelly than any other flavor. Last summer Bank of North Georgia collected 1,804 jars of PB&J at 2,627 pounds. 

The bank held a contest for their team members to guess the total number of PB&J jars collected and the total weight in pounds. Two lucky team members, Lisa Mote and Lauren Caldwell, won a PB&J Prize Bag and a $25 Publix gift card.

According to Kessel Stelling, President and CEO of Bank of North Georgia, “Recognizing that there is an urgent need for food that offers good nutrition to children, the bank focused on a staple lunchtime classic – peanut butter and jelly. We were very pleased with the outpouring of support expressed by our customers, team members and friends of Bank of North Georgia.”

Local Food Bank Partners: Food Banks/Pantries were selected based on their proximity to Bank of North Georgia’s bank offices. Partners include North Fulton Community Charities, Community Action Center, Fayette Samaritans, The Real Life Crisis Center, The Center for Family Resources, MUST Ministries (Marietta and Canton), Atlanta Union Mission, The Salvation Army (Covington and Carrollton), Community Food Pantry, Rockdale Emergency Relief, Papa’s Pantry, The Place of Forsyth, North Gwinnett Co-op, Norcross Cooperative Ministry, Tucker First Food Pantry, Community Assistance Resources & Emergency Services (CARES, Inc.), Helping in His Name Ministries, Camp and Christian Aid Society, Helping Hands of Paulding, Inc., Carroll County Soup Kitchen, Carroll County Foster Parent Association, Villa Rica Community Food, Bowden Area United Christian Ministries, Bremen Food & Clothing, and the Buchanan Health Department.

According to Barbara S. Duffy, Executive Director of North Fulton Community Charities, “The slumping economy combined with climbing food and gas prices have caused more and more local families to reach out to local food banks for assistance. At North Fulton Community Charities food requests have increased a frightening 32% this year. NFCC is distributing food to over 100 families every day and our wonderful volunteers are processing over 7 tons of food each week. Our donations have been good, but the need is through the roof. Peanut butter and jelly is a childhood staple and one of the most requested food items. We appreciate Bank of North Georgia's assistance in getting the word out about this need and helping fill each child's lunchbox with healthy food.”

BNG held its three week ‘Back to School PB&J Food Drive’ from July 20 August 7. “Our goal was to help children get off to a great start this school year by doing our part in providing some essential nutrition in their lunch boxes,” Stelling concluded.