A giant pile of potatoes is headed to Denver, and someone needs to eat them.
“We genuinely have too many potatoes, I cannot stress enough,” said Caroline Hissong, the communication manager for the nonprofit We Don’t Waste.
The nonprofit’s set to receive a donation of 21 tons of tubers this weekend from suppliers in the Midwest. Hoping to get the starchy vegetables to people in need, the nonprofit will host a “Potato Palooza” event on Monday in Park Hill.
“Anyone is welcome to come. They can bring tote bags, wagons, you could back up your pickup truck if you wanted to,” Hissong said. The event is 9 a.m. to noon at the Park Hill Food Recovery Hub, 6090 East 39th Avenue, on July 27.
The potatoes are rolling in from the Midwest, where they were previously headed for the landfill because no one would buy them.
It appears to be an effect of the potato surplus that has turned global tater markets upside down. In Germany, a Kartoffel-Flut (potato flood) has farmers giving away tons of Solanum tuberosum. In Idaho, one farmer has offered millions of pounds of potatoes for people in need.
The shipment headed to Denver is equivalent to about a semi-trailer load.
“We are just trying to get rid of as many of these potatoes to prevent them from going to waste, just to protect our environment from food waste and also put some good food out into the community at no cost,” Hissong said.
The surplus is a result of numerous factors, including favorable weather in some markets and perhaps even changing eating habits from the use of drugs like Ozempic. The producer price index for potatoes is near its lowest level in a decade.
Meanwhile, piles of potatoes are showing up at nonprofits across the country, including a 38,000-pound shipment to western Colorado.
“We’re really excited to be able to distribute these potatoes for one, because it’s the right thing to do for our environment. Up to 40% of all food produced in the U.S. ends up in our landfills,” Hissong said. “Preventing food waste is a win. And then there’s the other win, which is getting food out into our community.”
One in three Denver adults skips meals because they can’t afford it, according to a recent food insecurity survey report conducted by the city. Nearly half of those surveyed said they skip meals regularly.
“Us being able to is really just an awesome opportunity to be able to feed our community and protect our planet at the same time,” Hissong said.
If you can’t make the potato-fest, We Don’t Waste regularly donates and hands out food to Denverites. There are also volunteer opportunities. But, pretty please, people — pick up some potatoes in Park Hill.
“Anybody and everybody who can come, take what you can, please, because this is an immense amount of spuds,” Hissong said.
Denverite editor Andrew Kenney contributed to and Ryan Warner had thoughts about this article.
Kiara DeMare
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