Southwest Georgia students to hear the peanut story on PB&J Day

ALBANY — Several Southwest Georgia school systems will be celebrating a lunchtime staple — the peanut butter and jelly sandwich — today as students learn about one of the state’s top commodities, one that is particularly critical to Southwest Georgia’s agricultural economy.

The emphasis on peanuts, however, will also include its longtime partner-in-lunch, milk.

“We will be doing cross-promotion with peanut and dairy farmers because there is no greater pair than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of ice-cold milk,” Andy Harrison, director of commodities promotion with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, said. “The celebration bonds two of Georgia’s major farm commodities, dairy and peanuts, which are both vital in overall nutrition.”

Schools in six school districts — Colquitt, Decatur, Early, Miller, Seminole and Worth counties — are observing PB&J Day. The Mitchell County School System will celebrate the special day March 31. In all, 45 schools within the counties will be educating more than 25,000 students on the Georgia-grown commodities. The seven counties all rank in the top 10 for peanut acreage in Georgia.

“We are excited to work with these school districts and assist them with promoting Georgia’s official state crop — the peanut,” Armond Morris, chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission, said. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a glass of milk provide students with a nutritional staple to help them throughout the school day.”

Cafeteria promotions will feature a peanut-driven menu, and celebrity readers will be encouraged to read Janet Nolan’s “PB&J Hooray!” to elementary students. Georgia’s peanut farmers will be highlighted in class lessons designed to show the process of peanuts from field to table.

The Peanut Commission has donated peanuts, educational materials for teachers, and coloring books to all of the schools participating in the event and is presenting elementary school media centers with a copy of Nolan’s book.

Peanuts are grown in 75 of Georgia’s 159 counties, with 785,000 acres in the state planted with peanuts in 2015. That year, the state’s 3,400 peanut farmers produced more than 1.7 million tons of peanuts, 56 percent of the production in the United States. The Peanut Commission notes that peanuts are a $1.3 billion industry in Georgia.

The program is a partnership of the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the Georgia Peanut Commission and the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association.