Tons of Spuds

Farmers donate potatoes rather than throw them away

Katie Teachout, The Journal | Last updated May 08, 2020 7:32pm0

Roger Harnack count

Adams County Commissioner John Marshall pulls a bag of potatoes out of a bin to load into an awaiting truck during last Wednesday's giveaway.

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RITZVILLE – Around 37,000 pounds of locally-grown potatoes were given away here last Wednesday rather than thrown away, a result of coronavirus restrictions putting the brakes on the food supply chain.

Donor Marvin Wollman of the Warden Hutterian Farm said his family has been farming for generations, but when "Stay Home, Stay Safe" quarantine restrictions closed restaurants, his potatoes had no place to go.

The quarantine was ordered by Gov. Jay Inslee, a Bainbridge Island Democrat, in his attempt to slow the spread of the pandemic across Washington.

"The processors cut us back," Wollman of hi...