Tekonsha food pantry benefits from unclaimed potatoes

Manager at TA Travel Center helps distribute approximately 500 pounds of potatoes

By Lucy Hough / For Black Squirrel News

TEKONSHA TWP — On Saturday, Sept. 12, a truck driver pulled into the service station at the TA Travel Center in Tekonsha with a pallet of potatoes that had been rejected by its intended destination. The potatoes were fine, and the driver asked manager Tanya Lamp if she knew how to get them to people who could use them.

Lamp got to work.

“Prices of groceries are expensive, and everybody is living paycheck to paycheck,” Lamp said. “I didn’t want it to go to waste.”

Lamp called people she knew who might have connections to the food pantry at the Union Church-United Church of Christ. Lamp eventually reached Susan Putnam, the church secretary who runs the food pantry. Putnam drove down to the truck stop and was surprised by how many potatoes there were. There were approximately 500 pounds of potatoes total.

Putnam took eight bags, and within each bag there were 10 bags with three pounds of potatoes. Lamp helped load the potatoes into Putnam’s car, totaling 240 pounds.

“We could have taken more,” Putnam said. “The pallet was only taken down about half by putting those bags in my car. They still had more to get rid of.”

Lamp ultimately distributed the remaining 12 big bags of potatoes. She gave some to an adult foster care home in Tekonsha. “We handed them out to everybody,” she said.

Union Church’s pastor Melanie Johnson posted on social media that they would have these potatoes when the food pantry opened on Monday. In the three hours the food pantry was open that day, all 240 pounds of potatoes were picked up. Putnam said they’re still getting calls from folks asking if there are any left.

This potato donation is in the spirit of how this Tekonsha food pantry operates. The food pantry has existed since at least 2016, and this year it began receiving food from the South Michigan Food Bank. Prior, it operated entirely on donations – both financial and food donations.

The food pantry at Union Church is open to residents of Tekonsha and Burlington Townships who have identification that they live in those communities. People can come once a month. They offer food provided by the South Michigan Food Bank, including dairy products, and in the summer often have produce from neighbors who share from their gardens.

Union Church Food Pantry:

• Located at 206 West Randall St., Tekonsha, MI
• Open 9 a.m.-Noon on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

How we reported this: Interviews were conducted with Lamp and Putnam.