11 Tons of Peanut Butter and Jelly Collected in 9th Annual PB&J Challenge

WHAT: 11 tons of peanut butter and jelly

WHEN: Thursday, November 10, 2011

TIME: 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin,

1700 W. Fond du Lac Avenue, Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wis. – The warehouse at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is packed with peanut butter and jelly thanks to the many schools that participated in the 9^th Annual Peanut Butter and Jelly Challenge. Students from 75 area schools collected peanut butter and jelly during the month of October to help feed hungry children. The PB&J Challenge encourages students to help other children who are less fortunate. 105,000 children rely on food from Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin each year.

In the spirit of the holidays, students from the winning schools will help box the peanut butter and jelly on Thursday, November 10, 2011 beginning at 10 a.m. at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, 1700 W. Fond du Lac Avenue, Milwaukee. Stickee, the PB&J mascot, will also be on hand to congratulate the winning schools.

There are two categories of winners, most pounds per school and most pounds per student, with an elementary and middle school in each category. The winning schools in the most pounds of PB&J per school category are: St. Joseph Catholic Academy (Lower Campus) Kenosha, 1,776 pounds; Whitefish Bay Middle School, Whitefish Bay, 5,128 pounds. The winners with the most pounds of PB&J per student are: St. Patrick Parish School, Elkhorn, 7.6 pounds per student, 451 pounds total; Steffen Middle School, Mequon, 2.5 pounds per student, 1,059 pounds total. Each winning school will receive a plaque and a $200 gift certificate to a local sporting goods store.

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a childhood favorite, but it’s also a simple, healthy meal packed with protein.  Peanut butter and jelly are two of the most needed food items at the food bank. The PB&J Challenge helps stock the shelves with this important staple.

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Each year 330,000 people in Wisconsin rely on food supplied by Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. The food bank is the largest, private, non-profit distributor of food in the state. Feeding America food bank distributes more than 15 million pounds of food annually to 1,000 food pantries, meal programs and shelters throughout Wisconsin.  Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is affiliated with Feeding America which is consistently ranked as one of the most efficient charities, out of the country’s 100 largest charities, by Forbes magazine.  Since 1982, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin has distributed more than 280 million pounds of food.  To learn more about hunger in Wisconsin, log onto www.feedingamericawi.org.