Area residents can help needy individuals in Chautauqua County and all of Western New York by donating peanut butter to FeedMore WNY this Saturday at Chautauqua Mall.

“Spread the Love” will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of JC Penney at the Chautauqua Mall, 318 E. Fairmount Ave., Lakewood. Anyone can bring any size unopened jars of peanut butter to the collection point located in the JCPenney parking lot near Taco Bell.

Donors are encouraged to utilize the mall’s entrance located next to Olive Garden. Volunteers will help direct traffic, and instruct donors how to make the donation.

Volunteers will alert peanut butter donors where to pull up, and when the donor needs to place the vehicle in park. FeedMore WNY is collecting the peanut butter with as little direct contact between donors and volunteers as necessary. Donors should have their peanut butter in a trunk, hatchback or back seat, for volunteers to collect without having donors exit their vehicles.

“Spread the Love” at Chautauqua Mall will be one of five events held in Western New York to benefit FeedMore WNY – the organization which combined Meals on Wheels for Western New York and Food Bank of Western New York.

The events are being held to help FeedMore WNY replenish its supplies and distribute more nutritious food to hungry neighbors during the COVID-19 pandemic. FeedMore WNY’s food bank territory includes Chautauqua County.

The idea for the “Spread the Love” food drives was born when FeedMore WNY Board Chair Jerry Sheldon was packing emergency food boxes for distribution and realized the organization was especially low on donations of peanut butter. FeedMore WNY greatly relies on peanut butter to feed its community members, as it is a nutritious form of protein and a staple menu item for the organization’s BackPack Program, which serves children in need.

Since peanut butter also happens to be one of Sheldon’s favorite foods, the concept for the food drives seemed especially auspicious.

“It is heartbreaking to know there are so many of our community members who are struggling with hunger” Sheldon said. “As the pandemic wears on and the unemployment rate continues to rise, so will the need for food assistance. FeedMore WNY works tirelessly to ensure our hungry neighbors of all ages receive nutritious food to eat, but it cannot do so without the support of the community.

“With the coronavirus wreaking havoc on the food supply chain, FeedMore WNY needs donated food now more than ever,” he said. “FeedMore WNY’s Board and Community Ambassador Council are honored to hold these ‘Spread the Love’ food drives, and we are grateful to all of our host locations for helping to make these events possible. We encourage the community to stop by our locations on May 30 with donations to feed their fellow neighbors.”

The organization’s Board of Directors and Community Ambassador Council are encouraging the community to support “Spread the Love.” Locally, the event is being coordinated by Jamestown Meals on Wheels Executive Director Barrie Yochim, and Gebbie Foundation CEO Greg Edwards.

Yochim is a member of the FeedMore WNY Board of Directors, while Edwards is a member of FeedMore WNY’s Community Ambassador Council. Yochim, Edwards and volunteers from the community will be helping at the peanut butter collection.

Both Yochim and Edwards thank Chautauqua Mall and its management for allowing “Spread the Love” to be based at the mall on Saturday.

Members of the community are encouraged to donate peanut butter in unopened plastic jars. Monetary donations also will be accepted at the various food drive locations and online at www.feedmorewny.org.

FeedMore WNY offers dignity, hope and a brighter future by providing nutritious food, friendship and skills training to its Western New York neighbors in need. Through its food bank distribution center and partner hunger-relief agencies, as well as its home-delivered meal program and other targeted feeding programs, FeedMore WNY alleviates hunger and assists community members of all ages throughout Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara counties.

Jamestown Meals on Wheels will continue to collect peanut butter for FeedMore WNY after Saturday. For information, contact Jamestown Meals on Wheels at 488-9119.