The National Peanut Board (NPB) took a group of dietitians, media representatives, product developers and chefs to Camilla, Georgia for our annual Peanut Harvest Tour. There’s no better time of year to showcase the sustainability, versatility and flavor of the peanut.

From October 5 through October 7, the group experienced different stages of the peanut process. The trip started off with boiled peanuts and an information session that included info about how peanuts are grown and how they get from farm to market, as well as peanut sustainability, its uses in cultures globally and culinary and food product development.

The next day, attendees learned about peanut allergies and nutrition during breakfast. The group started their day at Firetower Peanut Buying Point where they learned about the peanuts first stop after harvest. Attendees were shown where the peanuts are taken in, cleaned, dried and inspected. Next attendees went to Scott Lewis’s citrus farm where they learned about the relatively new but increasingly popular crop in Georgia.

After lunch at Albany’s Bread House, attendees toured Tara Foods, where various brands of peanut butters are made. Folks on the tour got to see how shelled peanuts are turned into their favorite peanut butter brands. Attendees even got to try a fresh, hot jar of freshly made peanut butter at the end of their tour.

Following Tara Foods was the main event of the harvest tour – peanut harvest! Attendees went to Casey Cox Kerr’s family farm. While there, the group asked questions about how and when peanuts are harvested. For some of the attendees, this was the first time they had stepped foot on a farm. According to NPB Communications Director, Lauren Highfill Williams, “it was like we were at a concert when they started digging peanuts. Everybody took their phones out and started recording the combine and were super excited when they dumped the peanuts into the trailer. Everyone wanted to share it on their social media accounts to show others how peanuts are harvested.”

For dinner, James Beard nominated chef and cookbook author, Asha Gomez, prepared a flavorful peanut-packed meal that included: chicken satay with peanut sauce and Kerala fried chicken prepared in peanut oil.

All of the attendees expressed how much they enjoyed the tour and how impactful it was on their perspective of and appreciation for peanuts. Attendees also commented that they planned to share the information they learned about peanuts with many having already shared photos and videos with peanut information included.

From October 9 through October 11, National Peanut Board (NPB) partnered with The Peanut Institute, American Peanut Council (on behalf of PB for the Hungry) and Mission MightyMe to talk all things peanut with attendees at the first in-person Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo in 3 years. Our team had a packed event, sharing information about peanut nutrition, preventing peanut allergies, and sampling delicious Bonci’s Bite’s peanut butter snacks, Big Spoon Roasters nut butter bars and Mission MightyMe proactive peanut puffs.

The booth featured a board with peanut-inspired wipe-off wallpaper (which you can get digitally here!) where attendees were encouraged to share their favorite PB pairing. Combos ranged from PB and chocolate to dried fruit to toast, and as controversial as PB and mayonnaise, and all were great opportunities for connection and conversation at the booth.

In addition to the activity at the booth, NPB’s Sherry Coleman Collins, MS, RDN, LD paired up with Samara Sterling, PhD, RD, to talk peanuts from the showcase demo stage. The session, Peanuts: Promoting affordable plant-based nutrition solutions, highlighted the many reasons peanuts fit into today’s trends as an affordable, nutritious, and delicious food. The session was well-attended and highlighted resources for RDNs including TPI’s research library and NPB’s Peanut Pro Certification (PPC) continuing education program.

To expand engagement during the event, NPB partnered with three well-known registered dietitian nutritionists. Leslie Bonci was enlisted to feature her Bonci’s Bites and to leverage her social media (Instagram and LinkedIn) to encourage fellow RDN’s to get Peanut Pro Certified. Likewise, Carlie Beaucejour, MS, RD, LDN helped spread the word about the value of the PPC program on LinkedIn. Lastly, we worked with Lauren Harris-Pincus to give away 30 signed copies of her latest book Everything Easy Pre-Diabetes Cookbook. It was a packed few days that paid big dividends in engagement with this important group of food, nutrition, foodservice and healthcare professionals.