Through the Potato and Produce Project, farmers, growers and other produce handlers donate truckloads of commercially unmarketable produce to SoSA West. They notify us when they have a tractor-trailer truck load and we pay to have it packaged and transported to a food bank that distributes food to people in need. SoSA West works with farmers, growers and other produce handlers across the West, to distribute fresh produce to food banks across the West.

Originally called the Potato Project, this program began with the donation of a truckload of potatoes in 1983 and has grown to provide millions of pounds of produce each year – over 11 million in 2008, and more than 400 million pounds since the program began. SoSA distributes food to the 48 contiguous states.

The skyrocketing cost of fuel has cut into the number of pounds we have been able to deliver over the past couple of years, increasing the cost per pound and decreasing the total number of pounds we can move. SoSA continues to research transportation options to reduce these costs.