Mother Nature has hit the southern United States with a number of hurricanes this season, the worst of which was Hurricane Irma which struck the Florida Coast, leaving thousands without everyday essentials. Wisconsin’s potato and vegetable industry is answering the call for help.
The Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) is pleased to announce a large truckload of potatoes and onions is on its way from Wisconsin to the Harry Chapin Food Bank in Fort Myers, Florida.
“Wisconsin farmers have a history of being generous, especially to those in need or suffering through an emergency hardship,” said WPVGA Executive Director Tamas Houlihan. “Through a coordinated effort by WPVGA members, we are proud to be a part of delivering ‘Something Special from Wisconsin’ to our friends in the southern U.S.”
The following Wisconsin potato farms made generous donations of potatoes: Wysocki Produce Farm/RPE of Bancroft, Bushmans’ Inc. of Rosholt, Okray Family Farms of Plover, Alsum Farms of Friesland, and Worzella & Sons of Plover. All told, over 30,000 pounds of potatoes were donated.
In addition to the large quantity of potatoes, Dean Kincaid, Inc. of Palmyra donated 8,000 pounds of onions.
Bula-Gieringer Farms of Friendship contributed the generous donation of the freight, picking up product and delivering the load to Florida.
A number of organizations also made monetary donations including Roberts Irrigation of Plover, JW Mattek and Sons of Antigo, Bula Potato Farms of Antigo, Brenda and Dennis Bula of Antigo, Coloma Farms of Coloma and Heartland Farms of Hancock.
Among the other donations made regularly by the WPVGA are the following: annual donation of time, money effort in packing over 100,000 meals to the charitable organization Feed My Starving Children; multiple salad bar donations to Wisconsin schools; thousands of pounds of potatoes annually to Feeding America food banks; annual donations to the Wellers Walk helping drill wells in Africa; and annual donations of potato chips to Boys and Girls Clubs and other organizations throughout Wisconsin, including shipments of potato chips to U.S. troops in Iraq.
Donated potatoes from Worzella & Sons being loaded onto the truck that is on its way from Wisconsin to the Harry Chapin Food Bank in Fort Myers, Florida.
