Potato Commission to give away 100,000 spuds in Thurston County on Tuesday

The Washington Potato Commission announced Friday that it will give away 100,000 processing potatoes on Tuesday in Thurston County.

The giveaway will take place at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Freightliner Northwest, 13232 Case Road SW, Olympia. Freightliner Northwest partnered with the commission for the distribution.

All potatoes will be given out first come first serve. Potatoes will be bagged and can be loaded directly into vehicles. Food banks can make arrangements with the Potato Commission to pick up a pallet for their locations by calling 509-765-8845 or emailing office@potatoes.com.

To avoid traffic backups on Interstate 5 off-ramps, Freightliner Northwest urges those picking up potatoes to use specific exits — from northbound I-5, take Exit 95; from southbound I-5, take Exit 99 (93rd Street).

“Thank you to all those who have helped us out along this journey to 1 million pounds (of potatoes distributed),” the commission said in a statement. “The volunteers, those who donated their space, their time, the donations to the GoFundMe account, the food banks that made the trips to pick up pallets of potatoes. And to our growers, who have donated their potatoes to help those in need during this unprecedented time.

“It’s times like these we all need to come together to help our neighbors. We have all seen what amazing hearts people have and it has been a humbling experience for all of us involved.”