Photos courtesy Washington State Potato Commission
WSPC commissioner Jordan Reed and his son Owen Reed volunteer at a potato giveaway event in Auburn, Wash.
To make the best of a bad situation, the Washington State Potato Commission (WSPC) set out on the “Road to a Million Pounds.” Reaching the destination in early June, the WSPC donated 1 million pounds of surplus spuds after COVID-19 restrictions took a toll on the industry.
According to the WSPC, 90 percent of the potatoes grown in Washington are sold to restaurants and other foodservice establishments. With so many restaurants closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, growers were left with storages full of potatoes no longer needed for processing.
However, growers recognized that they were not the only ones suffering financially and the potatoes in their storage sheds could help feed those in need. Knowing that many people had lost their jobs and were struggling to make ends meet, the growers set a goal to donate 1 million of the nearly 1 billion pounds of excess processing potatoes to people in need.
Together with volunteers and partners in various communities, the WSPC gave away bag after bag of potatoes across the state. Starting in Ritzville at the end of April, the WSPC handed out spuds from Spokane to Sedro Woolley, making stops in Moses Lake, Auburn, Kennewick, Wenatchee, Tacoma, Burlington and Renton, and ending in Olympia the first week of June. Altogether, 1 million pounds of potatoes were donated throughout Washington.
It cost about 7 cents per pound to wash, bag and transport the potatoes. The WSPC set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of the giveaways.
WSPC commissioner Marvin Wollman and Owen Reed, son of commissioner Jordan Reed, load potatoes into a car at one of several potato distribution events held throughout the state.
WSPC commissioners Roger Hawley and Ellie Charvet help out at a distribution event in Tacoma, Wash., at which 200,000 pounds of potatoes were donated.
