MARYSVILLE, Wash. — Melissa Knaak of Marysville is practicing what she preaches. She and her friend Terry Myer are associated with the nonprofit Down to Earth Community Gardens and together they're helping store and donate thousands of pounds of potatoes that otherwise would have gone to waste.
"We’ve got 30 bags of onions and 20 bags of potatoes, 2,500 pounds of produce," Knaak said.
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is being felt in grocery stores across the state, as the food supply chain is in flux. And it's not just potatoes.
Earlier this week, Tyson Fresh Meats announced it will resume limited production at its Pasco, Washington, beef facility after it was temporarily shut down to test all employees for coronavirus.
“Well the farmers over in Eastern Washington are having a hard time moving their supply because of COVID-19,” Knaak said.
It's one of the reasons the Washington State Potato Commission is on a mission to give away one million pounds of potatoes.
"How ever many you need, that’s how many they are encouraging people to take,” said a woman in Tacoma helping to distribute produce at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday.
Two hundred thousand pounds of potatoes were handed out at the drive-through event at the stadium Thursday with help from the Washington National Guard.
In Marysville, Knaak and Myer plan to take the 2,500 pounds of potatoes that Myer drove over from Eastern Washington and distribute it for free during a farmers market on Friday, May 15.
"It would have been tilled under in a field," Myer said, but instead the produce will go to those in need during the pandemic.
"It’s really, really hard and I see that every single week that we do the free farmers market, we are donating about a thousand pounds a week every week,” Myer said.
Last week, Myer says 500 pounds of produce was handed out in mere minutes and on Friday, they hope to hand out all 2,500 pounds of what's in Knaak's garage.
The free farmers market will take place at 12 p.m. Friday, May 15 at 12110 26th St NE Lake Stevens, WA.