Free Potatoes: Idaho Farm Gives Away Potato Haul

Instead of throwing or burying their potato stockpile, an Idaho farm has decided to give away their haul as market complications caused by COVID-19 took a toll on the crop's demand.

Cranney Farms Chief Executive Officer Ryan Cranney took to his Facebook page and advertised their noble cause of giving away free potatos to anyone who wants to have a bag or two.

In his social media post, Cranney said they started dumping potatoes and have no more room to stock them due to the ongoing COVID-19 disaster.

“The potato supply chain has definitely been turned up side down,” he continued, adding that whoever wants to have “a few bags” can drop by their farm and satisfy their fill of the root crop.

Cranney created his “FREE POTATOES” post Wednesday and since then, it was shared by the community more than 9,000 times. His selfless act also earned him and his farm tons of praise from the community.

Most of his potatoes end up as french fries and has graced a number of eateries, ranging from “upscale restaurants” to “family sit-downs” and diners. But with the ongoing crisis, Cranney said the food business has took a “total beating.”

“Food service numbers are down, restaurant business down maybe 80 to 85% down in some places,” the CEO told KTVB, through Fox News.

Following his Facebook announcement, people came and visited his farm in swaths. Fox News said that Cranney was amused when one person drove 450 miles to get his fair share of potatoes.

There was also an instance when the farm saw up to 30 cars pulling over for free potatoes – a feat he said was the first time in the farm's 113-year history. But they're not just getting the potatoes for themselves; they are also getting some for their friends and loved one who are affected by the illness.

Giving away the farm's harvest for free goes beyond the effects of COVID-19. For Cranney, it's also helping the people of Idaho. Unemployment caused by the virus had hit the state hard, with the Idaho Department of Labor having the most number of unemployment cases in the last four weeks “than in all of 2019.”

“I just felt like it could be something to maybe give back to the community. I know people are struggling financially with the shutdown of the economy,” Cranney said.