Teen with lifetime supply of peanut butter donates jars to furloughed workers

A Virginia teen who won a lifetime Lidl peanut butter supply donated some of it to furloughed federal workers impacted by the government shutdown.

Eric McKay, a 15-year-old with autism, is a big fan of peanut butter, and has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on an English muffin for each meal of the day, according to CBS News.

{mosads}When Lidl peanut butter went on sale, his mom reportedly stocked up with 72 jars.

McKay, whose nickname is “Bean,” labeled each jar with a number and finished the entire stock in about a year. He marked that occasion by tweeting at the official Lidl Twitter account, saying “my mom says it’s time for you to have another peanut butter sale.”

We’ve got 72 jars on the way! Are you willing to up the ante?! If you get 72,000 RTs we’ll give you a lifetime supply of peanut butter. Do you accept our challenge? #LidlBeanutbutter

— LidlUS (@LidlUS) October 17, 2018

Lidl responded by saying they’d give McKay a lifetime supply of peanut butter if his tweet attracted 72,000 retweets. McKay reached that goal in about three months, and received a five-year supply of Lidl peanut butter from the company’s warehouse in Fredericksburg, Va., as a result.

Congrats Bean! We’re over the moon that you reached your goal The Lidl elves have just received a fresh shipment with your name on it! Could you stop by our warehouse tomorrow for a special pick of #LidlBeanutButter? @dandelionmama pic.twitter.com/s2WrCTcay3

— LidlUS (@LidlUS) January 20, 2019

McKay, whose father is a furloughed federal worker, announced after he earned the supply that he wanted to share some of the jars with workers affected by the shutdown, according to the local news station, WTOP.

The news station noted that on Wednesday that federal workers could claim up to three jars of peanut butter at the store in Dumfries, Va., for free. All they had to do was show their government I.D. 

“I’ve got a lot of food, I don’t need all this food,” McKay told Fox 5. The news station noted that McKay will donate peanut butter jars again on Saturday. 

The partial government shutdown, which was triggered on Dec. 22, is now in its 34th day, making it the longest in U.S. history. The shutdown has impacted thousands of federal workers around the nation, and led to various private efforts to support them.