Potato harvest yields more than 11K pounds for food banks

TORRINGTON (WNE) — Volunteers braved cold rain on Oct. 18 to harvest more than 11,000 pounds of potatoes destined for Wyoming residents facing food insecurity.

The fifth annual Potato Harvest brought together approximately 80 volunteers who picked 11,096 pounds of potatoes in less than two hours. 

The collaborative effort between the University of Wyoming Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center and the Food Bank of Wyoming will provide fresh produce to counties statewide.

This year’s harvest proceeded despite the scaling back of the University of Wyoming’s Cen$ible Nutrition Program after it lost federal funding earlier in 2025. The program had coordinated volunteer efforts since the harvest began in 2021.

Volunteers included church youth groups, community organizations, school groups and volunteer firefighters. Long-time partners such as the Wyoming Women’s Center in Lusk and Torrington Community Gardeners also participated.

“It was incredible to see the army of volunteers braving the cold and wind to help their Wyoming neighbors out,” said Brian Lee, SAREC research scientist. “The volunteers made very short work of bagging the potatoes; we had the fields picked clean in just under two hours, which is by far the quickest we have ever done it.”

The Food Bank of Wyoming will distribute the locally grown potatoes through

more than 150 Hunger Relief Partners statewide. Potatoes were selected for the project because their long shelf life reduces spoilage risk while providing fresh produce.

“SAREC is proud to produce these potatoes for the Food Bank of Wyoming,” Lee said. “I like to think by helping provide a nutritious meal to our Wyoming neighbors, we are helping the state long-term.”

The harvest has grown annually in both volunteer participation and potato yield since its 2021 launch.

Information about food assistance is available at wyomingfoodbank.org/ find-food.

This story was published on Oct. 31, 2025.