Florida Catholic | Peanut Butter Is ‘mmm Good’ To Children In Mission Program

Peanut butter is ‘mmm good’ to children in mission program

SISTER BERNADETTE MACKAY, OSU | SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA CATHOLIC

Published: 06.18.08

FYI

During the Festival of Faith, May 8-10, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, 9,991 pounds of food was collected for Agape Food Bank and the diocesan Mission Office breakfast program. The peanut butter weighed in at 2,395 pounds. Ursuline Sister Bernadette MacKay, director of the diocesan Mission Office, writes about the importance of peanut butter to the children in Orlando’s sister Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic.

ORLANDO | With the rising sun each morning, the children of our five Mission Catholic schools, high in the mountains of the Dominican Republic, are on their way to school. Why so early, you may ask? It is breakfast time and nobody wants to be left out of this exciting treat.

Each day, the volunteer parents arrive at the school to prepare a breakfast meal that looks like milk but is heavily fortified with vegetable oil, soy milk and chocolate. With this drink, two tablespoons of peanut butter spread thickly over 14 graham crackers are served and hastily eaten to the very last crumb. On two other mornings, a huge amount of peanut butter is added to the milk drink and guzzled down with delight. The visitor does not need to ask if the kids like peanut butter; the finger licking and lip cleansing with the tongue are proof enough.

For two years now, our children have been enjoying their peanut butter servings. Since the program has been initiated, the performance rate of our children has greatly increased and attendance is almost flawless.

One morning when I stopped by the school and I observed the lip licking, I asked the children what was so special about the milk drink. One kid replied, “The milk drink with peanut butter goes down smoothly and leaves a wonderful taste in my mouth for the whole day.” Another said, “It has such a rich taste and gives me lots of energy.” And still another said, “It is like thick wet sugar in my mouth.” One little boy commented that he comes early to school when there is peanut butter because he wants to be sure to get a BIG serving.

All of our little children on ‘the hill’ thank you for sending them more peanut butter! “We love peanut butter, and are grateful that you care enough to share it with us”

Festival food donations boost local food bank

ORLANDO | Agape Food Bank in Lakeland, in addition to the diocesan Mission Office, benefited from donations of food at the Festival of Faith, May 8-10. Of the 9,991 pounds of food collected, nearly 8,000 pounds were canned and boxed food items. Attendees also donated more than 2,000 pounds of peanut butter.

“In these times, it was highly needed and very timely to put out on the floor the additional pounds of food for the agencies which are seeing a 20 percent to 25 percent weekly increase in recipients,” said Agape director Katrina Pelham.

“Protein, being the highest need for nutritional value, is the hardest to find and make available. Between the peanut butter and canned meats that came in, it was wonderful.”

Agape Food Bank, started by Catholic Charities of Central Florida in 1983, currently supplies more than 200 nonprofit organizations with more than 3 million pounds of food annually for distribution to the needy at no cost.

— LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

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Peanut butter is ‘mmm good’ to children in mission program

FYI

Festival food donations boost local food bank

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