Longview residents: Assemble!
The city of Longview as of Tuesday was losing a battle to improve the security of East Texas — food security, specifically, for families struggling to make ends meet in a world marked by the economic villains of inflation and high rent.
Mayor Kristen Ishihara — we’re not saying she’s Captain Marvel, but, you know, probably — and Tyler Mayor Don Warren kicked off a battle to rule the world of peanut butter in early September.
The “Spread the Love” contest to see which community can gather the most donations of peanut butter ends Friday. The peanut butter will go to the East Texas Food Bank as part of Hunger Action Month to be distributed to families across East Texas.
Longview started off as the hero of this story. Week 1 saw the city leading Tyler with 165 jars of peanut butter to that city’s 52 jars. A week later, Tyler jumped ahead, with a total of 963 jars to Longview’s 299. The end of week three, this past Friday, saw Longview jump to 2,952 jars compared with Tyler’s 1,190.
And then Monday came around, and Longview’s lead disappeared with a snap of Tyler’s fingers. (Is a comparison between the city of Tyler and the Marvel villain Thanos unfair?)
“Due to some monetary donations yesterday, Tyler is LEADING Longview with 3,083 jars to our 2,952 jars,” Ishihara announced Tuesday on Facebook.
She also told the News-Journal on Tuesday that Tyler’s lead was driven by a $1,000 donation to the peanut butter drive. The online donation option at tinyurl.com/26jt2sn3 makes it possible for people to donate money to buy peanut butter, with $25 equaling seven jars, for instance, in the competition.
Actual peanut butter donations may be dropped off at any Brookshire’s, Super 1 and FRESH locations in Longview and Tyler.
A conspiracy could be behind the changes in the Tyler numbers, Ishihara suggested, with someone, or perhaps more than one someone, waiting to see the totals on Friday and then dropping in online to make monetary donations.
“Basically, they wait and see how many jars we have and write a check,” she said.
In comparison, Longview residents are fighting their ways to the grocery stores, dropping donations off there and at businesses and organizations that are accepting peanut butter donations to deliver to the Brookshire’s and Super 1 stores.
The whole contest ends at noon Friday, when all the donations have to be at Brookshire’s or Super 1. (Hint, hint Longview: Make some Captain America-like moves if you have to and get your donations in ASAP, or do what Iron Man would probably do and make a donation online.)
“I’m truly so proud of Longview for participating in the community spirit and community camaraderie,” Ishihara said of the grassroots donation efforts. “We have all the heart. We’re doing all the work. We’re collecting all the peanut butter.”
She was at her law office Tuesday morning and said she’d already watched four people pull up in their cars, jump out and drop off jars at her office. Other people have had peanut butter delivered to her house.
“We’ve really embraced the spirit,” she said.
So who is wearing the Infinity Gauntlet— you know, the one with all the Infinity stones that made Longview’s lead disappear?
It’s probably not nice to say it’s the Tyler mayor, Warren, but, oh yeah. It’s definitely him.
“We’re just following the rules,” he said, but wouldn’t say whether he was the person who dropped in the monetary donations. “It’s part of my strategy.”
He did confess he asked some friends to help out monetarily.
Businesses and churches are jumping in, too. Late this past week, Chick-fil-A locations on East Loop 281 and West Loop 28 started giving out gift cards for a free sandwich or eight-count nuggets to anyone who donates a jar of peanut butter
Chuck King, who owns Longview’s two freestanding Chick-fil-A restaurants, praised Ishihara for raising awareness of the need. A couple of his stores’ managers suggested their participation in the donation drive.
“It’s kind of fun, and it’s for a great cause — I mean a really great cause,” King said. “If we can engage our customers to participate in a worthy cause and we have the ability and the means to do it, why not do it?”
It wasn’t long before the freestanding Chick-fil-As in Tyler started offering the same deal as King is in Longview. (King does not own those stores.)
Banks and other elected officials have donated and organized collections as well.
Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview donated 1,000 jars to this city’s effort. And, strangely enough, the church Warren has attended for more than 30 years, Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, made announcements this past weekend about the peanut butter drive. A friend left Warren with 280 jars of peanut butter when they met for breakfast Tuesday.
Ishihara warned that the food bank will release a total Thursday, before the contest ends at noon Friday. That will allow Tyler to see how much Longview has raised “and go donate a check,” she said, referring to giving online.
That does actually give donors a better bang for their buck, she said.
Losing because someone pulled out a checkbook would be “soul crushing,” Ishihara said, admitting she’s invested in the win. Regardless, the city has donated thousands of jars of peanut butter to the effort.
“I think it’s such an excellent example of the spirit of Longview,” Ishihara said.
Warren said he and Ishihara were texting each other at the beginning of the competition, when Longview was ahead. He said she asked him, “Are you worried? I said, ‘I don’t worry.’ “
He said he thought about sending her a taunting message this week when Tyler pulled ahead, asking, “Are you worried?”
Regardless of what happens, he’s appreciated the professional relationship the contest has helped the two mayors foster.
“Win or lose, I’m good, but I don’t want to lose,” Warren said.
And it’s not the point of the competition.
“We’re raising a lot of money and we’re raising a lot of peanut butter for people who need it. I think people are aware of that goal,” Warren said. “It’s not really about the mayors. It’s about the food bank. There’s really not a loser. It’s hard for me to say that.”
