What would you do if you found out that 42,000 pounds of perfectly good potatoes originally destined for store shelves were instead headed to the landfill?
For a Denver nonprofit, the answer was clear: save the potatoes from the trash heap and give them away for free, according to Denver7.
What happened?
Denver-based nonprofit We Don't Waste distributed roughly 21 tons of potatoes at its Park Hill Food Recovery Hub, where anyone in the Denver metro area could pick up as many potatoes as they could take.
The nonprofit advised people to come ready with ways to haul their taters, including tote bags, wagons, or even a pickup truck.
While 42,000 pounds of potatoes might sound like a lot, We Don't Waste had announced by around 10:30 a.m. on Monday that it had run out of potatoes. The announcement came roughly 90 minutes before the event's scheduled conclusion.
We Don't Waste communications manager Caroline Hissong explained how the nonprofit came into possession of such a massive haul of potatoes
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"All of these potatoes that we have came to us from the Midwest," Hissong told Denver7. "All of them were sourced to be sold in store shelves, but for some reason or another they're not making it to the store. In order to prevent it from going to waste, we recovered that and we'll be distributing them today just to feed as many people as we can."
After the event ended, We Don't Waste referred Coloradans to other upcoming food distribution events.
Why does it matter?
The giveaway underscored how society discards massive amounts of edible food even as many households are struggling with high grocery costs.
We Don't Waste told Denver7 that higher food prices are leading one in three Denver adults to skip meals.
Beyond the fact that wasted food could be someone else's meal, when food is thrown away, the resources used to grow, package, and transport that food are wasted as well.
Events such as We Don't Waste's potato giveaway keep surplus food in the food system rather than in the trash, which reduces waste while meeting immediate needs.
"Food recovery is really important. You never know who might be needing a little extra help, especially with all of our food budgets right now being a little tight," Hissong told Denver7.
What's being done?
Through its food recovery hub, We Don't Waste is catching surplus food before it is discarded and getting it out to community members quickly.
"Hopefully we could bring as many community members as possible to just enjoy hopefully some french fries, homemade potatoes at home, baked potatoes, just eat them," Hissong said, per Denver7.
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