- 4H is encouraging the community to donate peanut butter to help feed people in Wakulla County
- You can donate jars of peanut butter to the Extension office 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but they'll accept donations all year.
- Watch the video to hear from those working to collect the jars.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"It makes me feel happy and excited to know that I've helped someone."
Meet Laurretta Compton. She's a teen council officer with 4H in Wakulla County
She's working to help collect jars of peanut butter that can help feed families in our community.
She tells me it's important to let people know, "that someone is there to help."
Each year, extension offices across the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend region ask the community to help them collect unopened jars of peanut butter in the annual Peanut Butter Challenge.
Participating counties, church and civic groups along with 4H clubs challenge their members to donate and help.
I looked at data from United Way's 'ALICE' Report that I received from Second Harvest of the Big Bend. It shows 38 percent of households in Wakulla County are considered to be food insecure.
This includes the "working poor," or people who live above the poverty line but are still living paycheck to paycheck.
"This year it's been really tough we can tell that the economy has gotten tighter."
Rachel Pienta is the 4H program coordinator, she encourages people to help if they can.
"While the need for food pantry services has gotten even more dire there so there is more hunger now in Wakulla County as paychecks are really being stretched by inflation."
The jars collected in here stay in Wakulla County to help feed local families.
It's a mission Compton says more people should consider.
"I would really encourage other kids to be involved with it."
