Potato & Produce Project

Type of practice Reuse for food

Name of practice Potato & Produce Project

Name of main actor Society of St. Andrew

Type of actor(s) NGO

Location United States of America

Stage of implementation End-of-life

Year of implementation 1983

What was/is being done? The Society of St. Andrew salvages tractor-trailer loads of potatoes and other produce that are rejected by commercial markets or potato chip factories due to slight imperfections in size, shape, sugar content, or surface blemishes. The food that the Society receives is donated. Usually, these rejected loads end up at local landfills. Through the project, the Society of St. Andrew is able to redirect fresh, nutritious produce to food banks, soup kitchens, Native American reservations, food pantries, low income housing areas, local churches, and other hunger agencies for distribution to the poor.

Outcomes and impacts In 2010, the Society salvaged and distributed to America's hungry 28.1 million pounds of produce into 32 states through the Potato & Produce Project. Since 1983, 623 million pounds of produce were distributed.