Potatoes…Potatoes…And More Potatoes!

Submitted by Jessica Paulsen

This past spring the Mission Committee of First Presbyterian Church in Corning decided to try something the church had never done before…grow potatoes!

The idea began with a discussion of how the local community might be more fully supported, especially those who are food insecure and seek food and assistance from the local food pantry. The church has an empty lot and so it was proposed we use part of that as a garden and this first summer try growing something that is fairly easy and requires little attention, which is how potatoes came about. 5 rows of seed potatoes were planted the middle of April and then, at the beginning of October, over 200 pounds of potatoes were harvested.

The majority of the crop was given directly to the local food pantry with the bruised and misfit potatoes used as part of a baked potato bar during the church’s harvest celebration. Everyone was thrilled to celebrate that the foray into growing potatoes was a success!