STARKVILLE — As the sun breaks over the horizon and the crisp fall breeze swirls fallen leaves along the road Friday, an 18-wheeler leaves Vardaman, “the sweet potato capital of the world.”
The truck’s haul of sweet potatoes weighs in at 20,000 pounds. But it isn’t headed to a market or canning factory; the sweet potatoes will soon line the shelves of food pantries and homes of hundreds of Golden Triangle residents.
At Mississippi State University, 50 volunteers from campus sororities and student clubs brave the chilly weather in the parking lot of the Palmeiro Center while awaiting the potato truck.
By 7:30 a.m., the potatoes are dumped at their feet and they begin bagging the mountain of potatoes. Just as soon as they can bag them, representatives from 14 different soup kitchens, churches and charities stop to collect about 2,000 pounds each.
MSU’s fifth annual Sweet Potato Drop is a triangle of support from fellow Mississippians, as the produce is state grown, the volunteers are natives, and local people with food insecurity — lack of quality and quantity — benefit.
“Mississippi is No. 3 in the nation as far as food insecurity,” said Dr. Chiquita Briley, assistant professor in the Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion at MSU. “So it’s really exciting for us as a nutrition department to make sure people have fresh produce.”
The potatoes were provided by Mississippi Sweet Potato Council members N&W Farms, Earp Farms, Edmondson Farms, and Spencer and Sons.
Organizations that benefitted from the Sweet Potato Drop include Peter’s Rock Church of God in Christ and the Brick Fire Project in Starkville, and Sally Kate Winters Family Services in West Point.
Pastor Willie Petty of Jerusalem Baptist Church in Columbus went door-to-door in Crawford and downtown Columbus with the 2,000 pounds of potatoes he picked up Friday morning.
“I mainly give them out to senior citizens,” Petty said, “but I won’t stop anyone from coming to me and getting some. Some of the people can’t believe it when they open the door.”
Petty said the potato drop is “like a blessing” because normally he rides to farms across the state to “glean” excess produce that farmers won’t sell. For the last eight years, Petty has gleaned squash, peas, okra and corn and distributed the produce to needy families in the area.
Potatoes, though, aren’t typically gleaned from farms because they’re not considered excess. All potatoes, regardless of size and shape, can either be bagged or canned. As long as potatoes are not soft and starting to rot, they make the cut for the Potato Drop.
“It’s a generous donation,” said Larry Woodward of Christian-based charity Society of St. Andrew. “Farmers can just as easily take them to a canning plant and sell them.”
Woodward helped coordinate the transport of the potatoes and agencies that received them as part of his role with Society of St. Andrew. Last year, the agency salvaged 2.5 million pounds of produce.
“It’s perfectly good, healthy food,” Woodward said. “The fact we’re able to help so many disadvantaged people is a special thing.”
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