The great potato giveaway: Métis society looks to distribute 55,000 lbs of potatoes

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Amid a snowfall on the first day of spring, locals in Fort St. John gathered around Fort St. John Métis Society offices to get their hands on potatoes.

It is part of the society’s work with the Second Harvest donations program, a food rescue group which redirects unsold surplus food to local non-profit organizations, according to its website.

Initially, the haul of spuds which came all the way from a Saskatchewan farm was as much as 55,000 lbs of potatoes, of which Chetwynd residents took 10,000 lbs to distribute to the district.

Fort St. John Métis Society president, Alana Copeland, spoke to Energeticcity.ca about the large amount, which is being stored at Surerus Pipeline’s warehouses.

“We got a phone call from Saskatchewan asking if we can distribute, we were told, 48,000 lbs of potatoes,” said Copeland. “It ended up being 55,000 on the bill of lading.

“If any community needs a bag, I’d like to give away bags of them. There are 2,000 lbs bags to any community groups that need them.”

Residents with reusable shopping bags surrounded Copeland’s pickup truck as a 2,000-pound bag of potatoes was unloaded. There are still several bags at Surerus’ warehouses.

While the giveaway for individuals was only until 5 p.m. on March 20th at the Métis Society offices, anyone can contact the offices by phone at (250) 785-1541 to arrange a pickup for a bulk bag.

For more details about the Second Harvest donations program, visit its website.