5 THINGS: Peanut Butter and Jelly drive hosted at River Country Water Park Thursday

Jun. 25—The Muskogee Wellness Initiative Coalition is hosting a Spread the Love Peanut Butter and Jelly Drive Thursday. These items can replace the admission cost at the River Country Water Park. Coalition Chair Joshua Cotten provides more information about the drive.

1 What food pantries will you donate to?

"We will donate the proceeds to local food pantries, churches, and the MLK center."

2 Why peanut butter and jelly?

"We chose Peanut Butter and Jelly from requests from the food pantries. They noticed a rise in the number of requests for shelf stable food during the summer months, when the kids are out of school. It helps provide a great alternative for snacks and food during and the summer and in some situations the children do not receive adequate food provisions and the Peanut butter and Jelly helps to provide some sustenance."

3 If people can't make it to the waterpark, how can they donate otherwise?

"That's a great question, if people would like to donate, they can drop off peanut butter and jelly to any of the local food pantries."

4 Is there anything else attendees can bring?

"We are primarily focused on peanut butter and jelly for the admission to the waterpark, but people are more than welcome to bring non-expired canned goods. It will not apply to the water park, but we are more than happy to deliver them to the food pantries!"

5 What is the purpose of the drive?

"The primary purpose of the Spread the Love, Peanut Butter and Jelly food drive is to provide some type of assistance to people that are struggling a little with food supplies during the out of school summer months. Through our partnership with the Muskogee Parks and Rec, we were really excited to create a partnership to help donate to the local pantries and also focus on people getting to the waterpark for physical water activities! It's an amazing opportunity for families to help others in our community and enjoy one of Muskogee's top attractions!"

Partners on the project include: Muskogee County Health Dept., Okie Country 101.7, Muskogee Parks and Rec., River Country Water Park, Cherokee Nation, OSU Extension, OSU high Obesity Program, Armstrong Investment Advisors, Okie Nutrition, Muskogee Head Start, TSET Healthy Living.

— Gina Foster