Casey Gaylord, from the North Liberty Community Pantry, moves a 2,000-pound bin of yellow potatoes off a Table to Table truck into the North Liberty pantry on Thursday. Table to Table received semi truckload of yellow potatoes this week — 40,000 pounds — that volunteers are bagging and making available to food pantries in Eastern Iowa.
Casey Gaylord/North Liberty Community Pantry
IOWA CITY — Families soon will have access to 40,000 pounds of yellow potatoes on their way to Eastern Iowa food banks, thanks to a donation this week to Table to Table in Iowa City.
The semi load of potatoes was sourced through a partnership with The Farmlink Project, a national nonprofit that connects surplus farm produce with communities facing food insecurity.
Nicki Ross, executive director, Table to Table.
Submitted
“These perfectly good potatoes had no buyer or available market, but thanks to this partnership, they’ll make their way to local families instead of going to waste,” said Nicki Ross, executive director of Table to Table.
Volunteers from the United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties were putting the potatoes into 10-pound bags on Thursday, with another bagging session planned for Monday with volunteers from United Way, CIVCO Medical Solutions and Big Grove for Good.
Table to Table will coordinate distribution of the bagged potatoes with Johnson County Food Access Network and the HACAP Food Reservoir.
Regional food pantries are seeing record numbers of families this year, with an average of 13,000 visits per month in Johnson County, as food and fuel prices have taken a toll on family budgets.
“A donation this size gives us an opportunity to get a lot of good, nutritious food to our neighbors at once,” Ross said in a news release. “At a time when so many families are struggling to afford groceries, every truckload counts.”
Table to Table received a similar donation of potatoes in 2024. At that time, it took weeks and partnerships across Eastern Iowa to redistribute them. This year, the entire truckload was claimed by local food access partners within one day of learning the donation was available.
Jennifer Banta (right), the CEO of United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties, catches a 10-pound bag of potatoes tossed her way by United Way volunteer Randall Aitchison on Thursday as the two help Table to Table bag tons of donated potatoes. The volunteer crew bagged 4,000 pounds of yellow potatoes, with more bagging planned Monday with volunteers from Big Grove and CIVCO Medical Solutions.
Nicki Ross/Table to Table
“That tells you a lot about how much the need has grown,” Ross said. “There’s good food out there, and there are people who need it. Our job is to connect the two.”
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