Spuds take over West Campus

    An average potato weighs about 110 grams. Hundreds of volunteers unloaded 21 tons of potatoes on Saturday Oct. 6, at the West Campus parking lot.
    The sixth annual potato drop, sponsored by The G.I.V.E. Center, moved from Walter B. Park to The Village at West Campus. However, the number of volunteers was unaffected.
Paul Sedor, a GCSU alum, felt like the student turnout was better this year after switching locations.
    “I’m not quite sure of the exact number, but I know we ran out of name tags,” said Sedor. “The shuttle started earlier than usual which brought students from the residence halls over to Bobcat as early as 7:30 a.m.”
    Volunteers, numbering 266, helped load potatoes into trucks. Students made up 250 of the volunteers. They contributed over 800 hours of community service.
    Luckily for volunteers, the 42,000 pounds of potatoes that arrived around 8 a.m. came pre-bagged. In the previous five years, volunteers had to bag the potatoes individually and stack them appropriately. This year the potatoes came in five pound bags that volunteers had to stack.
    Another change from previous years was the potato type. This year white potatoes were given away as opposed to sweet potatoes.
    After being shipped from Wisconsin and dumped into the West Campus parking lot, the potatoes were delivered to 40 different agencies, in six different Georgia counties. The shipments usually consisted of 500 to 1,000 pounds. The largest shipment went to the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank. Their truck left the West Campus lot with 3,000 pounds of potatoes.
    However, just giving to the larger organizations is also the biggest draw back said Andy Mobley, the volunteer coordinator.
    “Many people hear about this event and think they can come by and pick potatoes up without previously arranging to do so,” said Mobley, a fourth year potato dropper. “You don’t want to turn anyone away because that is what we are here for, but we also have to make sure all of the organizations get their share.”
    Unloading the truck only took about two hours and since the potatoes were pre-bagged, volunteers had plenty of downtime to enjoy themselves on an overcast afternoon. Many of the volunteers threw footballs and flying discs, while others sat in circles and talked.
    Sitting around spuds all day could amplify someone’s hunger, but many community businesses contributed food.
    “Krispy Kream, McDonalds, Chick-fil-a, and Papa John’s brought food for everyone,” said Sedor, who carted six bags of pizzas through the anxious crowd. “We even had 97.7 (WMGZ) come out in the morning. They helped get the word out.”
    Whether students came with a group, a class or just for a good time, they all did a good service for the community. Matt Grattan, a senior political science major, came with ten Pi Kappa Alpha members.
    “It’s just loadin’ taters,” Grattan said. “I would not even hesitate to come back and do this again. The spuds are great, but the best part about (the potato drop) is the free food and giving back to the community.”
    For students like Grattan who enjoy the potato drop, they might not have to wait as long. Mobley thinks they will do another food drop in the springtime. Maybe apples next time.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 12 2007. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry