Ronceverte Kroger looks to once again lead district in annual peanut butter drive

BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) - In 2021, the Ronceverte Kroger outperformed the 15 other stores in its regional division when it came to the annual “Spread the Love” peanut butter drive.

Every fall, jars of peanut butter are collected in Kroger stores across the Mid-Atlantic region and then donated to local food banks in partnership with Feeding America. This is the fourth year the drive has been held, and last year 272,000 jars were collected.

The Ronceverte store donated more than $10,000 in peanut butter in 2021. Store Leader Joseph Hanson says they hope to hang on to the top spot again this year.

“Every Associate is just super excited to be a part of this program, to engage our customers, again to engage with the community and just sell as much peanut butter as we can,” he said. “This year, our goal is $15,000, and we are super excited to get back in the contest and really make a difference in our communities.”

Libby Morgan has worked at Kroger for 40 years. She says the peanut butter drive is her favorite in-store event.

“I love doing the peanut butter drive. Everybody gets excited about it. All the customers do. I’ve had all great customers.”

In addition to employee participation, Hanson says his store wouldn’t be able to sell thousands of jars for the drive without community support.

“It’s always nice to see local residents just contribute to something that’s bigger than them if that makes sense. Just helping each other and helping the area, I think, for not only our associates but our customers as well.”

On Thursday morning alone, the store had sold nearly 500 jars.

The 2022 “Spead the Love” peanut butter drive kicked off on Wednesday, September 14, and concludes on October 11.

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