Potato Project

Tractor-trailer loads of potatoes and other produce are often rejected by commercial markets or potato chip factories due to slight imperfections in size, shape, sugar content, or surface blemishes.

Usually, these rejected loads end up at local land fills. Through the Potato Project, however, the Society of St. Andrew is able to redirect these 45,000-pound loads of fresh, nutritious produce to soup kitchens, Native American reservations, food pantries, low income housing areas, local churches, and other hunger agencies for distribution to the poor.

Since this produce is donated, the Society of St. Andrew only pays for the transportation and packaging of the food—an amazingly low four cents per pound! That means we can provide food to the nation’s hungry for about a penny per serving!

The Potato Project delivers millions of pounds of food to the nation’s hungry each year.

The Potato Project is successful and extremely cost effective for two simple reasons:

First, the food we receive is donated. This food is not marketable for cosmetic reasons, but is perfectly edible. We do not buy the food we distribute. Our costs are for the transportation and packaging of the food we receive.  

Second, we operate in conjunction with existing food distribution organizations such as food banks. We avoid duplication of effort in order to gain efficiency and cut costs.