The Planters NUTmobile rolled into New Orleans last week and is heading out of town today after its crew spent time “hanging out and spreading smiles,” according to Peanutter Shannon Hope. The 26-foot long peanut and its two crew members, known as Peanutters, stopped by Sazerac House, Second Harvest Food Bank, local nursing homes and even a few anniversary and birthday parties. 

“We’re so excited to be here,” Peanutter Owen Luterbach said. 

He said visiting New Orleans has been on his bucket list for months and that it is definitely a lot more fun visiting inside a peanut. 

Driving through the streets of New Orleans hasn’t posed much of a challenge for these Peanutters. When they train to drive The NUTmobile, the Peanutters go through two full days of intense driver’s training, according to Hope.

“I’m very thankful for our training because the streets are much narrower here,” said Luterbach. 

Both Hope and Luterbach graduated from Syracuse University and the University of Minnesota respectively in May of 2020. Hope said she didn’t expect to be driving a giant peanut around the country almost a year after graduation. 

“When I started college, if you would have told me that by the time I was graduating I would be signing up to drive a giant peanut, I would have told you you were crazy,” she said. 

 “It’s the perfect gap year,” Luterbach said. “You really get to see America as a whole.” When the Peanutters aren’t working, they’re able to be tourists in whatever city The NUTmobile is in that week, he said. 

When the Peanutters are working, they stop by local businesses making promotional appearances, according to planters.com. 

While in New Orleans, the Peanutters visited Sazerac House. 

“Their team was delightfully whimsical and engaged with our guests in such a fun and interactive way,” said Jen Merryman, events manager at Sazerac House.

The NUTmobile and the Peanutters also volunteered at the Second Harvest Food Bank while in town. They worked in the main volunteer center, inspecting and reboxing donations to be distributed across 23 parishes in Louisiana, according to Jay Vise, communications director at the Second Harvest Food Bank.

“Their national recognition helps in raising awareness and helps to spread the message about hunger,” Vise said. 

Although their time in New Orleans was short, the Peanutters experienced much of New Orleans with the help of some local advice. “You get so many of the local recommendations,” Hope said. “You hear so many stories and meet so many people.”