By Edward Redd
Forty thousand pounds of potatoes will be available to be given away to anyone who needs them between 8 and 10 a.m. Oct. 8 at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 4780 E. 126th St. in Carmel.
For several years, St. Mark’s has been holding “potato drops” in partnership with the Society of Saint Andrew, a nationwide agency committed to gathering produce and keeping it from going to waste.
“The Society of Saint Andrew gets the potatoes from a farm in Wisconsin. A semi-truck arrives at our church early on the morning of the drop,” said Wayne Uhl, potato drop coordinator. “The potatoes are packed in 10-pound bags on pallets of 2,000 pounds each. Church members use a pallet jack and forklift to unload the pallets onto our parking lot.”
This event is part of St. Mark’s UMC Mission in Action weekend. Individuals, families and food pantries in need are welcome to stop by to pick up potatoes.
The church asks that food pantries and other agencies reach out ahead of the event to let organizers know how many pounds of potatoes they need by contacting Stephanie Cohen at scohen@stmarkscarmel.org or 317-846-4912, ext. 215. Individuals don’t need to register in advance and are encouraged to come and get free potatoes.
“Several food pantries from around the area come with everything from cars to pickup trucks to box trucks to take the potatoes,” Uhl said.