The Potato Project

The Real Junk Food Project has teamed up with The Active Wellbeing Society to spearhead an emergency food response across Birmingham; the demand is huge and we believe the ‘Potato Project’ can play a part.

Charlie, a farmer north of the city, had his contract with a large food processing company cancelled, leaving him with a field full of spuds and no prospect of selling them. This is a significant issue occurring in our food supply chain as a direct result of the disruption caused by Covid-19.

Leaving the potatoes in the ground to rot would mean Charlie wouldn’t be able to use the field for two years, decimating his business. To make sure he can grow next season’s crop and remain viable, Charlie needs to dig up the potatoes and find new customers fast.

We are working with Eat Make Play to move the potatoes into the emergency food system, but we also want to pay the farmer a fair price for his crop.

So, here’s our solution to support Charlie, the emergency food system and of course find a small way of thanking you!

10kg of potatoes for £10

10kg is an awful lot of spuds for any household. So we’re asking you, to donate eight of those kilos to the emergency food system, to help feed people who are struggling to feed themselves. We will send your 2 reward kilos to various pick-up locations across the city.

2 kilos = for you

8 kilos = for those in need in our city

We have 10 tonnes of potatoes to move through the Potato Project. That means we need about 1,000 people to “chip” in to make this project a reality and ensure at least 8,000kg of potatoes can be made available for the emergency food system.

Given the current travel restrictions, we are working hard to ensure you won’t have to travel too far from home to collect your potatoes. There will be multiple pick-up points in and around Birmingham and there will also be some additional locations in the wider West Mids.

Our immediate priority is to move the potatoes from Charlie’s field and into the emergency food system. We will then aim to deliver your 2kg reward potatoes within the next few weeks. Your support is much appreciated and we promise to keep you updated with our progress.