Tons of Spuds

RITZVILLE – Around 37,000 pounds of locally-grown potatoes were given away here last Wednesday rather than thrown away, a result of coronavirus restrictions putting the brakes on the food supply chain.

Donor Marvin Wollman of the Warden Hutterian Farm said his family has been farming for generations, but when "Stay Home, Stay Safe" quarantine restrictions closed restaurants, his potatoes had no place to go.

The quarantine was ordered by Gov. Jay Inslee, a Bainbridge Island Democrat, in his attempt to slow the spread of the pandemic across Washington.

"The processors cut us back," Wollman of his decision to give away his crop. "They really have no use for them."

Ninety percent of all Eastern Washington frozen potato products are used in restaurants and other food service establishments, officials said.

"When those places closed, processing plants curtailed or closed their operations," Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy said. "Now, there are more than 3 billion pounds of potatoes in storage, and at least 1 billion without a home".

"They're unwashed and un-bagged, so it's hard to get them to the food banks," said Brandy Tucker of the Washington State Potato Commission.

Rather than dump his spuds, Wollman reached out to Michel Kiesz, area farmer and Washington Association of Wheat Growers board member.

Kiesz called Dye, and the two of them jumped hurdles to organize a giveaway for potatoes originally destined for processors.

"It's really hard when the supply chain's been broken. There's a lot of laws, rules and regulations to get that food to the grocery store. And to try and follow that in a different path is hard," Dye said. "So, that's what Michele (Kiesz) and I have been doing over the last four days; just trying to crack the code."

Dye said after getting required permission of Washington State Secretary of Agriculture Derek Sandison, they set up the giveaway in Ritzville with another the next day in Moses Lake.

Wollman took on the cost of washing and bagging his spuds in 15-pound bags and hauling them to Ritzville, where local individuals and organizations as well as food banks from as far Asotin and Seattle benefitted from his generosity.

Dye said she felt it important to "elevate and amplify this issue."

"It's a national concern. It's something that people need to recognize, that this is the potato production for the nation; and the world.

"If we break that supply chain, if we lose the ability to plant for next year, we're going to have shortages," Dye said. "It's a harbinger of things that we need to be aware of; that the longer this thing goes on, the more impact it will have on the availability of us to keep the food supply robust. This is next year we're losing."

Wollman said his farm still had potatoes they bought for seed with no place to go.

"We did plant, but we cut back significantly on what we normally would have planted," Wollman said, adding the financial impact from the last few months of restrictions has been huge.

"There's some growers that actually have potatoes in the ground, and then later were told their acres were cut, and they're not sure what to do now," Wollman said. "They probably won't be able to sell them if they grow them. So there's some talk about probably just disking it under right up front to keep the cost down; in other words, to not put more money into something you won't be able to sell."

Dye said local farmers aren't growing for just Americans, but are supplying 1.3 billion people in China and another billion in India.

"That's the scale of the potato production in this region," Dye said. "We've got that global economy, and that's why we're stuck. And the farmers are experiencing it. It's going to take them years to get over this loss. Years."

Handing out potatoes in Ritzville, Tucker said people were "gracious and thankful."

"They are looking for ways to donate to the growers just to help them out financially, because they've got such a hardship coming up right now," Tucker said.

"We're not sure what's going to happen, but it seems the longer we have the whole economy shut down; the longer this keeps up, the worse this is gonna get," Wollman said. "So we're trying to be proactive, and not let the potatoes go to waste. There are a lot of people who can't get food, so we're glad to help out in this way."

"As farmers, we can't stand the idea of food going to waste. This really breaks our hearts," Kiesz said. "We'll be trying to do this all summer. If there's a way for us to fill the gap in between the growers and the table; people's food supplies, then we're going to do that."

Along with Sanderson and Dye, Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, was working on solutions.

"Our representatives are huge in this," Kiesz said. "They're helping us a lot."

Schoesler said he's hopeful things improve.

"We hope there's a plan for reopening commerce in the state of Washington before we're all broke," Schoesler said. "So hopefully, until that happens, we can make the best of a bad situation, getting product to people who need it, and move forward."

A large gathering of community members helped hand out the potatoes in Ritzville. Brayden Duff, a senior at Davenport High School next year, said when his grandfather asked if he could come help, he "hopped on the opportunity."

"I thought it would be a good thing to spend my time on. It's good to help people, and give out some potatoes," Duff said, adding the day had been "a definite success."

"We were expecting to have to go until at least noon, and it's 10:30 now and we're down to barely anything left on one pallet. So it's good."

Slinging 15-pound bags of spuds alongside him was Joey Duff, an 11-year-old going into sixth grade at Ritzville Middle School.

Their grandfather, Terry Rube of Ritzville, had been loading vehicles non-stop.

"The word was put out they were going to need some help in distributing; I think the amount of potatoes was close to 20 tons, and they needed some hands, so absolutely," Rube said.

"We're asking people to take some potatoes, enjoy them, and fix your meals with them, but take a few and plant them," Dye said. "Even if it's in a patio pot. Then, next fall when you harvest, pay it forward. If you have a neighbor in need or somebody, just take it and pay it forward and keep the love rolling forward. Because that's who we are as people, and I think we're kind of remembering what we really are like."

"Will we get through this? I think so. But after this is all over, everything's going to change, I think. It's probably going to change the way people eat," Wollman said. "This is my opinion, but maybe the way our industry has worked up until now; maybe the way we live anymore is going to be different. We don't know. It's just very uncertain right now."

"We're not afraid of stuff; we're not afraid of risk," Dye said. "We planted these, thinking that certainty was there; that people would always be able to get them, and then all of a sudden things change. Who would ever expect a global economic shutdown?

"But they're willing to go and take the risk and do it. I think that we've forgotten that in our society, that that's what makes it so neat to be free. Free to do those things and make those wise choices and take the risk."

"As with any disaster (and COVID-19 certainly has been a disaster), there have been silver linings, and this is one," Schoesler said May 1 in response to Gov. Inslee's extending restrictions through the end of May.

"For the sake of our growers, I hope to never see another Potato Day like this, but they certainly managed to take a tough situation and turn it into something good for families in our area."