Auxiliary News

By Datonn Hanke, vice president, WPGA

Hello, everyone!

Welcome back to Auxiliary News. This month I’d like to talk about some exciting things the Wisconsin Potato Growers Auxiliary (WPGA) has been involved with over the winter.

For those of you who might remember my article from a few months back, we had the opportunity to have Alice in Dairyland visit our baked potato booth at the Wisconsin State Fair. Well, this past December, we were able to partner with Alice in Dairyland again to help with our Potatoes in the Classroom program. Potatoes in the Classroom is a grant program that gives schools the opportunity to apply for funding to support the use of Wisconsin potatoes in high school family, consumer science, and agriculture classes.

We, of course, participate to spread awareness of potatoes being an

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incredibly healthy option, and that consumers should always look for Wisconsin potatoes in the store. Along with providing Wisconsin potatoes to classrooms, we also give teachers the option to have in-class or Zoom presentations where we either conduct a cooking demonstration or talk about the nutritional value of potatoes.

ALICE IN DAIRYLAND

Sarah Agena, registered dietician for the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA), has done a tremendous job hosting these presentations for us, but this year she had some help from Alice in Dairyland herself.

Alice in Dairyland was able to attend Wausau West High School and Longfellow Middle School in La Crosse. There, she talked to middle and high school students, and was a wonderful advocate for our industry. I think it’s safe to say the students also loved meeting a local celebrity! We can’t wait until spring when Alice plans to visit schools not only for Potatoes in the Classroom, but also during the Kids Dig Wisconsin Potatoes program.

Speaking of our Kids Dig program, we will be visiting various schools this spring and throwing harvest parties to celebrate the completion of students growing healthy potatoes in their classrooms. If this sounds like something you might be interested in helping us with, please reach out to the WPVGA office for more information.

That’s all for now. See you all in the March edition.