For Northwest Medical Center Chief Administrative Officer Sahuarita Cari Olvera, health care goes beyond treating a patient’s symptoms — it’s also about addressing the root cause of an illness. Having access to nutritious food, she said, supports physical and mental health alike and is a form of medicine in its own right.
“Some families don’t have reliable access to nutritious food and it’s not just a social issue, it’s a health issue,” the chief administrative officer said. “Keeping families together and making them feel that security of having those resources is very important and we see the impacts in our clinics and our emergency departments.”
Through the end of March, Northwest Healthcare is hosting its fourth annual Jars of Love Peanut Butter Drive to support the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. With a goal of 10,000 jars, the health care organization will collect various nut butters at many facilities within its network — Northwest Medical Center, Oro Valley Hospital, Northwest Medical Center Sahuarita, Northwest Medical Center Houghton, Tucson Surgery Center, most Northwest Urgent Cares and most Northwest Primary and Specialty Care Clinics. The jars will be donated to and distributed by the food bank.
One in five children in Arizona are experiencing food insecurity and 25% of people served by the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona are under 18 years old, according to Chris Firmage, public relations manager for the food bank. He explained that peanut and other nut butters’ shelf life, nutritional density and popularity among children especially make it a great choice for supporting families without access to reliable sources of food.
“Peanut butter is such an essential, vital item for us here at the food bank,” Firmage said. “It’s shelf stable, which means it’s going to last for a while, it’s very nutritious, full of good fats and full of protein.”
According to Harvard Health, one two-tablespoon serving of peanut butter contains 3.3 grams of saturated fat versus 12.3 grams of unsaturated fat — making the spread comparable to olive oil. The spread additionally offers 200 milligrams of potassium, as well as fiber, vitamins and minerals and other nutrients. Salted peanut butter has approximately twice as much potassium as sodium and unsalted peanut butter contains about 5 milligrams of sodium.
According to the National Peanut Board, unopened peanut butter lasts for six to nine months in the pantry, where it lasts two to three months if opened. However, its shelf life can be extended to reach six to nine months if it is refrigerated.
Other nut butters have similar nutritional value to peanut butter, with some differences. According to Cedars-Sinai, almond butter offers various vitamins and minerals, including vitamin E, magnesium, and calcium — with 19 grams of fat and nearly 5 grams of protein. The organization also states that sunflower seed butter is a “great alternative” for individuals with nut allergies.
“Just one tablespoon of sunflower seed butter supplies nearly a quarter of your body’s daily requirement for vitamin E,” Cedars-Sinai states on its website. “Sunflower seed butter is also a great source of protein, healthy fats and magnesium.”
Aside from donating peanut butter in person to one of Northwest Healthcare’s participating locations, interested parties can also donate to the organization at donate.communityfoodbank.org. At the time of publishing, the campaign had raised $692,322 of its $300,000 goal — with the Northwest Healthcare team at $1,100 of a $5,000 goal.
As Jars of Love continues, Firmage expressed gratitude on behalf of the food bank to Northwest Healthcare for its partnership.
“Often with these kinds of community food drives that we do, the heavy lifting is done by our partner organization — and this is no exception,” he said. “It was a rough year, last year, and community support was amazing and kept us afloat during tough times with federal shutdowns and other challenges.
“We’re just so grateful for what is really a tremendous community.”