Once again, after eight years, Mark Peters who owns Spruce Drive Farms is helping everyone get ready for Thanksgiving dinner on Monday by giving back as he likewise gives thanks. A vegetable giveaway takes place at the Prairie Alliance Church parking lot in the west end of Portage la Prairie this Saturday (October 12).
"This year, we've got a couple of other potato growers who want to participate again. I haven't confirmed the second grower, but I know Elm River Colony will be bringing in a load, we will be bringing in a load, and Jefferies will be donating a bunch of vegetables. I know there will be carrots, and they’ve got other things as well. This year, it will be a little shorter, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., just to tighten things up a little."
Peters says he's excited and is expecting a lot of people to show up, and the producers will be ready for everyone.
"It's going to be a great time. Also, make sure everyone remembers to bring their own bags, boxes, or containers—whatever they have. We have lots of volunteers to help with filling and hauling them to their vehicles, so it should go pretty smoothly."
He explains they’re aiming to provide a little more this year than last, and notes they had some crops left over, though many were sold.
"But we are prepared, so I might have a truck on standby at the farm just in case we run short. We're going to be fine on that front. There will be a parking team to help people find a place to park."
Peters says it's something his farm looks forward to every year and hopes it continues for many years to come.
He mentioned they continued over the past eight years, even through the pandemic, which actually helped uniquely.
"It was a little difficult just to try and figure out how to navigate that, but the way we had it set up, we just had different stations on the conveyor as people came, just to keep everybody apart. Actually, that system worked quite well. We kept that system; it flows a lot easier when we have different stations on the conveyor."
Peters adds it all began eight years ago when they had a year with unsaleable seed potatoes, noting it didn’t work out for their farm to continue providing seed.
"Just the thought of disking under a field of potatoes didn’t sit well with me. So, we thought, 'Well, what if we just did a giveaway in town?' That's back when we brought a couple of trucks to Convention Corner at the time, on the Avenue. The turnout was amazing. I was just blown away by how that went, and I thought after that, we could just do that every year, regardless of whether we had sales or not. It was just so much fun and so worth doing."
Considering how it’s grown and is now at the point where other growers are involved, Peters says it’s wonderful, and he appreciates the help and willingness of other growers to be part of it.
He explains the last two years have seen other growers involved.
"Last year was the first year that our farm didn’t have any potatoes involved in it. That was a first for us, and it was really neat. This year we’ll be bringing in some, but we’re more reliant on the other growers now. There are just so many people who come, which is great. It’s not just people coming for themselves—they’re coming for their neighbours, family, or friends, and then they can share what they’re getting."
Peters says in a time when groceries are at an unreasonable all-time high, it’s good to help people out with free food. He adds that people are driving in from Winnipeg to get in on it.
"We aim for the Thanksgiving weekend. We hope to be done with harvest by that time, and this year is very close for us. It’s just been such a hot fall, and we couldn’t harvest potatoes when it was that warm because they wouldn’t store well. So, we had to push it off, like most growers did this year, and now everyone’s just getting things wrapped up. But within the next week or so, I think most of the growers should have completed their harvest."
He adds the giveaway runs from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., and they are hoping to empty the trucks and be a blessing to Portage.