Dye: Food Donation Events Display Heart Of Washington Ag

Farmers across the Inland Northwest, have been very busy over the past couple of weeks, not preparing their commodities for processing, but rather helping fellow Washingtonians impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Over the past couple of weeks, potato grower, for example, have held donation events where thousands of pounds of spuds were handed out to those in need; no questions asked.

State Representative Mary Dye said these events, were made possible by Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue waving a few existing rules and regulations, and of course the great heart of local potato growers.

“The grower realizing this was going to be a big deal, he went ahead an opened up his commercial bin, at his own expense, he hired crews and opened up the packaging plant, he paid for the bags, and then he washed the potatoes and had them bagged as if they were going to be delivered to Safeway.  And he donated it out of his own pocket.”

Potato growers have already held events in Ritzville, Moses Lake and Kennewick, with others planned for western Washington in the coming weeks. Dye added whether it’s dairy producers, onion, fruit or potato growers, these donation events show the outstanding culture in farming, where neighbors watch out for neighbors.

“When somebody has as health problem, we run over and we harvest their crops together to help the family.  When there’s a problem, we’re there to help each other in our neighborhood, and in our community, and we had a chance to extend that a little bigger.  It was great.”

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