Potato Drops

The direct delivery of food to the needy through the Potato Project includes “Potato Drops” where a tractor-trailer loads of potatoes are delivered to a church parking lot or other location. Volunteers than process the load by bagging the potatoes, if necessary, and delivering the food to local hunger relief agencies.

It is important to keep in mind that Potato Drops are not the norm for the Potato Project. The majority of food handled by the Potato Project is delivered directly to agencies. That is because most of the donated food we receive comes to us on relatively short notice and we deliver it to receiving agencies as economically as possible. For example, if a potato chip factory in Nashville rejects a load of potato chip potatoes and donates it to us, it makes economic sense for us to try to find a place near Nashville willing to receive the load rather than sending it to a food bank in, say, Chicago.

The purpose of a Potato Drop is primarily to help educate participants about hunger and the amount of perfectly edible food that goes to waste in America. It also is a good advocacy tool as it can help mobilize people to action.