Peanut Butter & Jesus feeds upwards of 1,800 Tifton locals weekly who are in need. The organization has operated for nearly eight years and has provided over 607,000 lunch bags since they began their work.
Chief Financial Officer Tony McBrayer said, “We can’t even believe it. We started our first Saturday with 141 bags, and now we are doing as much as 1,825 when we reach our peak time of the year.”
McBrayer continued, “There’s about 40 other chapters of Peanut Butter & Jesus spread out through the United States. They had seen what we were doing and started it up in their own communities.”
The reason for starting this was unexpected but a blessing to the church connected to Peanut Butter & Jesus. Pastor Harvey Morgan prayed about something that the church could do as a community outreach program.
Morgan had information on two of their iconic lime green vans that weren’t being used. He found the owners who said they started the ministry’s initiative but that their volunteer base dried up. The van owners made a deal that if they could continue the ministry at their church, Morgan could have them for free.
Peanut Butter & Jesus wouldn’t be able to feed anyone without the help of their volunteers. “We do have a good group of 15 to 20 that come almost every Saturday, then we need another 15 to 20 to make it happen,” said McBrayer.
The process may be quantity-heavy, but it’s easy with volunteer help.
McBrayer explained, “We have one group making and bagging sandwiches. Another group will be dropping the drinks in the bag, drop a snack in the bag, a little Bible story in the bag. Then we drop the sandwiches in last, so they don’t get smashed.”
All these sack lunches are assembled by 8:15 a.m. They then get loaded up into one of five vans that run their respective routes.
The organization knew from the start that they wanted to be a community ministry and not just for accepting help from one church. “We have volunteers from all types of churches. The comradery we have here is really fun,” said McBrayer.
Sieglinde Hollingsworth, one of the volunteers that joined through First Baptist Church, said, “I started about six years ago. I came and bagged bags. Then, I graduated up to making sandwiches.”
The way that the children appreciate the organization’s efforts is shown through their gratitude. “One day I was blessed to work in the back of the van to hand the bags out to the children. The name Peanut Butter & Jesus plastered on the side of the van and this little girl walked up and said, ‘Hey, Jesus.’ I could have been the only example of Jesus that she’s ever seen,” McBrayer said.
Another memorable time for McBrayer was when some kids camped out waiting for the vans to deliver their food. He said, “The kids camped out since 7:30 in the morning, but we didn’t get there until 9:30 to 10. They just didn’t want to miss the Peanut Butter & Jesus van.”
Evangelist Silas Carver is on the board for Peanut Butter & Jesus and takes his work in Christ as an inspiration in working for the organization. “I’m on a mission board and have been on mission trips, but there is a mission field right here in Tifton. You get back in some of these places, and it’s mindboggling what some people live in,” said Carver.
Carver continued, “There are some people facing hard times, and we can bring them a little comfort. It may be the only thing these kids get to eat.”
Other local organizations get together and help Peanut Butter & Jesus. Woodmen Life is a fraternal organization that takes pride in helping their community through donations and volunteer work.
Woodmen Life’s current president, Robin Phillips, said, “We get together and plan what we want to do each quarter in the community… We can donate $400, and our corporate office then gives it back to us. They support us because we all want to work together.”
Peanut Butter & Jesus is always accepting donations and volunteer help.
“We need donations and prayers,” Hollingsworth said. “Pray everyone shows up every week and that we have the money to continue. Buy a T-shirt, donate peanut butter. Whatever you can do is highly appreciated.”
If you or your group want to help Peanut Butter & Jesus in feeding Tifton’s community, contact Tony McBrayer at (229) 392-7774 or on their Facebook page, Peanut Butter & Jesus – Tifton. You may be the difference between a child getting to eat a weekend meal or not getting to eat at all.