Salvaging missed potatoes for hungry Alaskans yields rich harvest

Food Bank of Alaska executive director Susannah Morgan called it one of those rare and glorious "all is right with the world"kinds of days.

It's what happens when an active Rotary Club, 42 caring individuals and one generous potato farmer team up on a warm, sunny September afternoon for "potato gleaning"to help provide food for their neighbors in need.

The harvester had gotten most of the large potatoes;however, many of the smaller potatoes were left behind. Also, there were quite a few larger ones that either didn't get picked up by the harvester, or fell off the machine's conveyor belt.

These potatoes were for our gleaning, our "bonanza"hidden just under the surface or sitting right there in plain sight.

It was a family-friendly event. The obvious delight in the voices of the children in our group upon finding potatoes reminded me of a giant Easter egg hunt.