The complexities of peanut butter math are smoother than, say, pi.

It takes about 1 ounce of peanut butter to whip up one sandwich, says Brad Sherwood, customer executive at Hormel Foods.

So, the 500 jars of Skippy he delivered Wednesday from his company and Safeway to the Marian House Marketplace food pantry will make about 10,000 sandwiches.

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The donation is substantial, providing a three-month inventory for clients, said Andy Barton, CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, which runs a soup kitchen and food pantry.

“Peanut butter is a great shelf-stable protein option for households,” Sherwood said. “It’s something easy for families to prepare.”

It also “flies off the shelves,” said Albertsons/Safeway spokeswoman Kris Staaf.

The Marketplace serves 25 families three times a week and continues to see the need for food grow, Barton said.

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“We can help families and individuals avoid some of the severe consequences of the struggles of poverty by providing food, which may mean there’s more money for rent,” he said.

Thus, “a jar of peanut butter may help keep kids in their house and in their schools,” Barton said. “It’s a huge gift.”

The food pantry opened last year with a grocery-shopping style model of service, where families pick out the foods they want.

“Peanut butter is popular — It’ll go quickly,” Barton said. “It’s a familiar food.”

It also takes 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter, Sherwood said, and there’s a jar in 75% of homes in America.

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The pantry relies solely on donations for the food it gives away, said Catholic Charities’ spokeswoman Rochelle Schlortt.

Many businesses help stock the shelves, she said, including Whole Foods, Walmart, Sprouts, Sam’s Club, Costco, 7-Eleven, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, the Girl Scouts, Sawatch Artisan Foods, as well as the federal government’s Emergency Food Assistance Program, distributed through Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado.