You likely saw a large crowd of people at the corner of Saskatchewan Avenue West and 18th Street in Portage this morning, and afternoon.

It was the second Community Potato Giveaway in three years, hosted by Mark and Yanara Peters of Spruce Drive Farms.

Mark explains why they're doing it.

"The surface reason would be, I guess, just to build a relationship between the rural community and Portage," he says. "There's something contagious that happens when you give like this. There are a lot of good things that Portage has to offer, and we just want show our appreciation for what we can do."

Mark and Yanara PetersPeters tells us it's the second time in three years, with last year's giveaway cancelled because of frozen potatoes. He says doing this feels great.

"Because I know that a lot of people do need it," he says. "And there's just a lot of thankfulness, and we're very thankful, too, that we actually are able to do something like this. I'm not really sure how to put it all to words properly."

Yanara Peters sees this as a way of giving back.

"Because we've been receivers of so many good things, from so many people, from so many places, and so we're able to give, so we just think we should," she says. "And we get to hear about a lot of peoples' stories, and how much they're giving in their own circle of friends. Giving is contagious -- when you start doing a good thing, the ripple effect is there."

Last year's event was cancelled due to frozen potatoes.

 

Here are more pictures.