Chance pub chat sees big and wonky potatoes donated to food banks

A chance conversation in a local pub between a councillor and a farmer has led to a special delivery for families in need.

Wonky potatoes considered too big for packaging for supermarkets have been bringing smiles to the faces of users of the local food bank thanks to that pub chat.

Councillor Paul Kunes explained he was having a chat with his farmer friend in the pub when he happened to mention he had a couple of bags of potatoes that he was planning to throw away – either by using them for animal feed or by sending them to an anaerobic digester.

Cllr Kunes said: “It seemed a real shame.”

The chat led him to contact Helen Gilbert, project manager at Lynn Food Bank, to see if they would be of use to them.

He went along and had a look at the potatoes and found them to be perfectly useable – just bigger or more misshapen than those found in supermarkets.

Cllr Kunes, who represents Terrington on West Norfolk Council, grabbed some of the potatoes and took them along for Helen to see, and she was delighted with them.

Helen said: “This donation helps the food bank at a time when we really need it.

“It means we can give people good fresh veg and they can do with it what they want. It has really put a smile on peoples’ faces and it makes a huge difference.

“There’s a lot you can do with potatoes when it comes to cooking.”

Helen said the foodbank had seen huge demand over the year and is in need of more donations of items such as tinned meat, fish, vegetables, or fruit – a full list of what is needed is on the food bank’s website.

Farmer DS Means Ltd, based Terrington St Clement, is supplying the potatoes to the food bank and they are being distributed in Lynn, Downham, and Sutton Bridge.

Cllr Kunes added: “These perfectly good potatoes are considered outside the size standards for the packing industry and considered the wrong shape for supermarkets.

“They’re clearly edible and by donating them to local food banks they can help our residents who need them.”