Sharing the Harvest: Washington Potato Farmers Help Feed Families

Across Washington, harvest season is one of the busiest times of the year. From early mornings to late nights, potato growers and their crews are working hard to bring in the crop—a harvest that will feed families here at home, across the country and around the world.

But not every potato harvested is headed to a grocery store or restaurant.

For Washington potato growers and the entire potato industry, feeding people has always been at the heart of what they do. That includes helping make sure families facing food insecurity have access to wholesome, local food for their tables.

From Washington Fields to Washington Families

Throughout the year, potato growers, processors, packers and industry partners donate potato products to food banks and hunger-relief organizations serving communities across Washington and the Pacific Northwest.

Those donations come in many forms.

Fresh Washington potatoes are an important part of food bank distributions, giving families an incredibly versatile food they can use for breakfast, lunch or dinner. But the generosity of the potato industry extends well beyond fresh potatoes.

Food banks may also receive dehydrated and shelf-stable potato products, frozen potato products, snack foods, canned soups and other foods made with potatoes.

Having potatoes available in different forms gives food banks flexibility while providing families with more choices. Shelf-stable products can be stored for longer periods, frozen products offer convenience, and fresh potatoes can be transformed into countless affordable and satisfying meals.

Good Food Belongs on Every Table

For farmers, donating food is about more than finding a home for part of the harvest. It is about taking care of the communities where they live and work.

The families visiting food banks are our neighbors. They are working parents stretching a grocery budget, seniors living on fixed incomes, children coming home hungry after school and families facing an unexpected difficult season.

No matter the circumstances, everyone deserves access to good food.

Washington farmers work year-round to produce that food, and when there is an opportunity to share the harvest with people who need it, the agriculture community continues to step forward.

A Potato Can Become So Much More

A bag of donated potatoes might look simple, but think about what it can become.

Mashed potatoes around the dinner table. A warm bowl of potato soup on a cold evening. Crispy breakfast potatoes before school. A baked potato topped with whatever happens to be in the refrigerator. A hearty addition to a casserole that can stretch into another meal.

Potatoes are affordable, nutrient-dense, filling and incredibly versatile—qualities that make them especially valuable for families trying to make every grocery dollar and every meal count.

And behind every donated potato is an entire community of people who helped get it there: growers, farmworkers, processors, packers, truck drivers, food bank employees and volunteers.

Sharing More Than the Harvest

Harvest is a season that reminds us where our food comes from.

Before there is a bag of potatoes at the grocery store, an order of fries at a restaurant or a warm meal at a food bank, there is a farmer. There are months of planning, planting, irrigating, caring for the crop and finally bringing it out of the ground.

Washington potato growers are proud to grow food for millions of people. They are equally proud when that food can help a neighbor close to home.

Whether it is a truckload of fresh potatoes, cases of frozen products, shelf-stable potatoes, snack foods or canned soup, every donation has the potential to become something meaningful:

A meal. A little breathing room in a family's grocery budget. A full plate. A reminder that someone cares.

As another harvest comes in from Washington's fields, we celebrate the growers and potato industry partners who continue to share what they grow and produce with those who need it most.

Because the purpose of a harvest has always been simple: to feed people.

And Washington's potato farmers are helping do exactly that - today and always.

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