More than 30,000 jars of Velvet Peanut Butter were donated to Forgotten Harvest this summer to feed families in metro Detroit.
By: K. Michelle Moran | C&G Newspapers | Published July 8, 2025
METRO DETROIT — A local businessman who has been in the food and beverage industry for more than 25 years is using his newest venture to feed local families in need this summer.
Mark Rieth, of Grosse Pointe Farms, the founder and former owner of Atwater Brewery, purchased the iconic, Detroit-born Velvet Peanut Butter brand in late 2024. After learning that there was a tremendous need at local food banks, Velvet delivered almost 3,000 cases of its peanut butter — about 35,000 jars — in mid-June to Forgotten Harvest’s mobile food pantry distribution center in Oak Park.
“I’ve had a long-standing relationship with Forgotten Harvest back to the Atwater Days,” Rieth said. “One of the things I’ve always been so adamant about is giving back to the community.”
The fact that peanut butter is a shelf-stable product and is high in protein made it an ideal donation to Forgotten Harvest.
“Protein is one of the most important but often least available components in the diets of those facing food insecurity,” Christopher Ivey, chief marketing and communications officer at Forgotten Harvest, said in a press release. “With 7 grams of protein per serving, Velvet Peanut Butter can play an important role in supporting the health and well-being of our neighbors, while also providing classic peanut butter taste.”
For children facing food insecurity, the summer can be a particularly challenging time because school isn’t in session, so they’re no longer getting the free breakfasts and/or lunches they might receive at school. Peanut butter is also popular with many children.
“Peanut butter is such a great staple,” said Rieth, noting that it will fill someone up.
Rieth said it’s well-documented that children who are hungry tend to struggle in school.
“As we all know, there’s always a need to make sure kids have enough food to have a successful childhood,” Rieth said. “There’s a direct correlation between doing well in school and having (access to) food.”
The United Way states on its website that almost 50 million people in the United States need assistance from food banks and nonprofits to feed themselves and their families. One in four children, and one in four college students, are food insecure.
In Michigan, Feeding America has determined that more than 1.544 million people are confronting hunger. That’s more than the population of Detroit, Warren, Sterling Heights and Clinton Township combined. Of those facing hunger in Michigan, Feeding America says 402,680 are children.
Hunger Free America, which conducts an annual nationwide hunger study using federal data, said the number of Michigan residents who didn’t have adequate food over two one-week periods in August and September of 2024 was 53% higher than the number reported in August to September of 2021.
Rieth said he intends to continue to donate a portion of the peanut butter made by Velvet to food banks like Forgotten Harvest.
“We’re definitely going to be doing it on a more regular basis,” Rieth said. “We’re all about trying to help out and do our part to cure hunger.”
Velvet’s history goes back nearly 90 years. The company was launched in 1937 by Detroit truck driver Paul Zukerman, who spotted an ad for used peanut butter-making equipment and bought it to start Velvet Peanut Butter. After selling the product out of the trunk of his car, Zukerman was tapped to produce peanut butter for American troops during World War II.
The peanut butter can be found at multiple retailers across metro Detroit, including Meijer and Westborn Market locations and Fresh Farms Market in Grosse Pointe City.