MHS Students Organize Food Pantry Collection Drive

Melrose High School students will be running a Peanut Butter Valentines fundraiser in February to benefit the Servant's Heart Food Pantry at Faith Evangelical Church.

For the entire month of February, the Peanut Butter Valentines group is asking Melrosians to donate containers of peanut butter and jelly, canned fruit and vegetables and other currently dated canned goods. Items can be dropped off at any of the collection sites, including:

• Melrose Public Library
• Milano Senior Center
• Melrose City Hall 
• Melrose High School
• Roosevelt Elementary School
• Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in Wakefield
• YMCA
• Melrose Rotary Club
• Northern Bank & Trust Company

Peanut Butter Valentines Event

Melrose High School students will have a Peanut Butter Valentines donation table in the lobby of Shaw’s from noon to 4 p.m. at the
Shaw's Supermarkets, 34 Essex St.

About the Cause

"A Servant’s Heart Food Pantry provides groceries to over 200 hungry
families and provides a hot dinner once a month to all comers, according
to coordinator Joan Dean," reads a Peanut Butter Valentines press statement. "Peanut butter has always been one of the most requested foods at the pantry but other canned and dry goods are now equally in demand."

Several years ago, former Human Rights Commissioner member Katy Kennedy
wrote a letter to a local newspaper suggesting that people add
peanut butter to their Valentine’s Day list, and a new tradition was born: jars have been collected ever since, according to the statement.

"Peanut Butter is consumed in 90 percent of U.S. households and it is the most
requested food item from food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens
nationwide," reads the statement. "Loaded with protein and a long shelf life this item is particularly adaptable to differing housing situations and resources."

For more information, contact Peanut Butter Valentines Coordinator Laura Tramontozzi at 781-662-6175.