Whether hot or cold, there are dozens of ways to prepare potatoes. You can fry them, bake them, mash or scallop them, and even use them to make a salad.
One local organization wants to make sure needy families in Prince George’s County, Maryland, have access to the nutritious vegetable by harvesting 1,908 of them.
The significance of 1908? Benita A. Swindell, the president of the Psi Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, said that’s the year the sorority was founded on the campus of Howard University.
They’ve partnered with Elizabeth House, a food pantry that services families in Laurel, Bowie and Greenbelt.
Why potatoes?
“Potatoes are a great produce to raise because they’re low maintenance and they have a long shelf life once they’re harvested,” Swindell said.
She said food insecurity is a big problem in Prince George’s County.
“We have some areas in the community that are labeled food deserts … meaning that the residents don’t have access to fresh food and groceries,” Swindell said.
The sorority has an 8-by-8 foot plot at the Bowie Community Garden Center where they’ve planted the potatoes. They’re hoping they will be ready by September or October.
This is part of WTOP’s continuing coverage of people making a difference in our community authored by Stephanie Gaines-Bryant. You can read more of that coverage by clicking here.
