The Junior Women’s League of Smithfield (JWL) is holding its first Peanut Butter Buddies Drive to collect peanut butter for children enrolled in the BackPack Buddies program.
BackPack Buddies provides children from low-income households with nutritious, kid-friendly groceries for the weekend when free school lunches and breakfasts are not provided. With 185 children enrolled in this program, JWL aims to collect 925 jars of peanut butter so that each child will get one jar per month for the remainder of the school year.
According to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, 9,360 children under the age of eighteen in Johnston County, or 19.4% of that population, are food insecure, which means that they do not have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. JWL chose to collect peanut butter because it has a long shelf life and provides protein that is essential for growing children.
JWL members will collect donations collected on January 11th and January 12th from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at Carlie C’s IGA locations in Benson and Smithfield, as well as Walmart in Clayton and Garner. Donations will also be accepted at the Food Lion on Pritchard Road in Clayton on January 18th from 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Additional collection boxes are located at the James Bryan Creech Public Library in Four Oaks, Quality Care Animal Hospital in Four Oaks, the Pink Pineapple Boutique in Smithfield, the Public Library of Johnston County in Smithfield, and Revolution Modern Martial Arts in Clayton.
