It was an Irishman’s dream come true as downtown Oxford was invaded by 44,000 pounds of potatoes Saturday morning.
Organized by the Oxford United Methodist Men and held in the former James Lumber parking lot, the ‘Potato Drop? featured more than 100 volunteers lifting, sorting and stacking 20-pound bags of Yukon Gold potatoes delivered straight from Wisconsin.
These sacks of spuds were then distributed to 14 churches, soup kitchens and food banks in Oxford, Bad Axe, Lapeer, Pontiac, Rochester, Mayville and Saginaw.
‘It’s helping to fill the food chain for underprivileged people,? said Charlie Garrard, a member of the Methodist Men who helped coordinate the drop. ‘The times we’re in right now are hard on people and it’s even worse for lower-income people.?
‘It gives me a great deal of satisfaction knowing people are going to benefit from this. It takes time, it takes energy, but it’s worth it,? he added.
Oxford/Orion FISH, a local pantry and charity based in northern Oxford, received 98 bags (or 1,960 pounds) of potatoes.
‘It’s very much appreciated,? said Val Cass, pantry coordinator for FISH. ‘Everyone coming in (to the pantry) this week, if they would like (a bag), they can have one. We’ll just give them out until they’re gone.?
Each FISH client who requests it will receive a bag in addition to their monthly food order while supplies last. For example, a family of four can receive their normal allotment of 110 pounds of food, plus 20 pounds of spuds.
‘This is really a bonus,? Cass said. ‘When you can get extra fruits and vegetables, it’s all the better. There so much more nutritious.?
About half of FISH’s potatoes have already been distributed. The 50 or so parents who came in Saturday to register for AngelFISH, a Christmas gift program for kids in need (see brief on page 4), were each given a sack of spuds, according to Cass.
Oxford’s annual Potato Drop is part of a nationwide effort.
Every year since 1989 through their ‘Meals for Millions? mission project, United Methodist Men’s groups from around the country participate in the Society of St. Andrew’s ‘Potato and Produce Project.?
Millions of pounds of potatoes get rejected annually by commercial markets and potato chip factories due to slight imperfections in size, shape, sugar content or blemishes. Rather than allow these perfectly edible spuds to end up decaying in land fills, the Potato and Produce Project gets them redirected to America’s hungry.
In 2008, the Potato and Produce Project was able to salvage and distribute 11.45 million pounds of potatoes and other produce in 32 states. A total of 127,050 pounds was distributed in Michigan.
Garrard noted this year’s Potato Drop had more volunteers than were actually needed. ‘We had all those people standing around with nothing for them to do,? he said. ‘We really didn’t know what to do with them all.?
Last year, the potatoes were delivered in 100-pound sacks and approximately 100 volunteers were needed to repack them in 15-pound bags for distribution. This year, all the potatoes arrived ready-to-go.
But having too many volunteers isn’t a bad problem in Garrard’s opinion.
‘It makes you feel good to know that people, when asked, will help out when they see a need,? he said.