A group of 142 volunteers harvested 24,240 pounds of potatoes for local food banks from a donated acre of ground in Richmond Township on Sept. 20. Another two-acre field is scheduled for harvesting on the following weekend.
The effort, coordinated by Walter Zawaski and Diaconal Minister Linda Zawaski of IHartHarvest, Inc., better known as the Potato Project, drew groups of volunteers from local Girl Scout troops, churches, Rotary clubs from Kutztown, Fleetwood, Hamburg, West Reading, Wyomissing and Muhlenburg and KU’s Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, operating as the Kutztown Rotary Roteract Club.
The produce was divided, with 23,800 pounds going to the Greater Berks Food Bank and 440 pounds provided to Whitehall and Birdsboro food banks.
In the last two years, the project has provided 212,000 and 153,000 pounds of potatoes respectively from donated fields around the county. This year may be slightly less productive, due to uncooperative weather, according to David Owen, of Kutztown Rotary. Robert Hobaugh, of the same club, estimates that their harvest from September twentieth has touched the lives of 10,000 families with the food produced.
The ground that is used for the crops is donated on a year to year basis, according to Owen.
An International Harvester tractor and tilt-back trailer were purchased for the project with donations from private individuals in the area, many of whom were Rotarians. Matching grants from Rotary District 7430 resulted in the purchase of a storage silo and grain elevator.
“We are working at developing a sustainable model for the project,” said Owen. “Once we get it right, it can be adopted by Rotary clubs around the world.”
Hobaugh points out that the best way to do that is to put enough acres into corn as a cash crop to pay for operating expenses. IHartHarvest is looking for the use of a large field near Richmond Township on which corn can be raised that will put the organization over the top.
The project has become successful enough that it is approaching the production of as many potatoes as the food banks can absorb. Leaders of the organization have been asked to diversify their plantings to include such things as green beans, squash and carrots. That, Hobaugh points out, will require yet more specialized equipment. He, as Rotary District 7430 Assistant Governor, is traveling to Rotary clubs throughout the area to promote the expansion of the project.
The Potato Project originated with Walter and Linda Zawaski, working through many volunteers at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church and other churches in Kutztown and has rapidly expanded since 2008 to provide fresh potatoes for food pantries throughout the county.
