One jar at a time: Calgary friends’ peanut butter drive marks 10th year

For most, peanut butter is simply a pantry staple. But for Irene Pfeffel and Lorna Shaw, it’s a awesome of giving.

For the past 10 years, they person been turning jars of peanut food into lifelines for section families, each done an yearly peanut food thrust for the Calgary Food Bank.

What began arsenic a elemental thought — asking friends and household to lend a jar oregon 2 — has grown into a large assemblage initiative.

The friends of astir 50 years started the thrust successful 2014, collecting 33 kg of the fashionable dispersed successful the archetypal year. Since past they person transformed this humble enactment into a almighty yearly event.

“It was thing elemental you could prime up and flip successful your market cart,” said Pfeffel.

“Now, it’s conscionable astonishing to spot however overmuch we cod each year.”

Thanks to enactment from their idiosyncratic networks and the convenience of e-transfers, Irene and Lorna’s efforts person dispersed crossed Calgary and beyond. Last year, they collected implicit 800 kilograms of peanut butter—enough to capable 3 cars.

Lorna recalls the absorption from nutrient slope unit upon seeing their donation. “We started unloading, and they kept asking, ‘How overmuch more?’ It was unthinkable to spot it each travel together.”

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This year, Irene and Lorna person already collected 450 kg of peanut food and are hoping to interruption their grounds with astir 2 months inactive to spell earlier their December delivery. For them, it’s not astir the numbers; it’s astir the interaction they’re making connected section families successful a clip of dire need.

“I consciousness similar a breached record,” said Calgary Food Bank CEO Melissa From. “The world is we are continuing to spot unprecedented numbers of radical needing nutrient enactment successful our community. They are showing up each time to the tune of 750 households.”

To lend to Pfeffel and Shaw’s peanut food drive, email [email protected].