Carole Joseph has four children. But her tiny garden in Haiti grows only shriveled carrots and potatoes. She ran out of chickens a long time ago. Ms. Joseph goes to a town health clinic looking for peanut butter. “No peanut butter here,” the clinic workers say. “We’re out.” What will Ms. Joseph’s children eat now?

You might live in a place where peanuts are common. Peanut butter and jelly might seem like a boring old meal to you! But that isn’t the case in countries struggling with hunger. There, peanuts are a big deal.

Peanuts are high in protein. They are full of healthy fats. Peanuts have amino acids that help kids grow and develop. In some places, people do not have access to many kinds of protein. But they may have peanuts. Some manufacturers have mixed peanuts with other ingredients like dried milk, soy, sugar, vegetable oils, vitamins, and minerals. People living in the poorest places can use them. The spreads do not have to be refrigerated, mixed with water, or cooked.

The inventors of enriched peanut butter aren’t the first to put the peanut to good, unexpected uses. Long ago, an American named George Washington Carver discovered something. Peanut plants put nutrients back into the soil. During his time, people in America did not think of peanuts as a crop. But Mr. Carver proved peanuts helped the land. He also proved they could be used to make all kinds of things—peanut milk, peanut paper, and even peanut soap!

Some people think the amazing peanut could eventually solve world hunger. Will this “boring” food help Ms. Joseph’s children? Will it help the whole world?