Chris Voigt (20-potatoes-a-day) recognized as Potato Man of the Year by The Packer

Chris Voigt’s attempt to shed light on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s snubbing of potatoes employed comical tactics — including YouTube videos with him sliding down a hallway slathered in mash potatoes and dyeing his hair with purple potato juice.

Voigt, the executive director of the Washington Potato Commission, Moses Lake, is The Potato Man of the Year award recipient. Voigt received the annual award, from The Packer and its sister publication The Grower magazine, in conjunction with the National Potato Council, Jan. 8 at the council’s annual banquet in Las Vegas.

Voigt’s 60-day campaign, 20 Potatoes a Day, featured a strict potatoes-only diet, to demonstrate that potatoes are healthy, and should be included in the Women, Infants and Children program for mothers. Although his diet ended in late November, his crusade continues.

“There's still work to do,” he said at the banquet. “We still have to convince the USDA that the diet is successful and the potato is worthy to be in the WIC program and the school lunch program.”