As Thanksgiving nears, Potatoes USA says a new campaign connects consumers to the growers behind the nutritious vegetable, highlighting the rich heritage and future promise of the U.S. potato industry.
Growers featured in the campaign include, according to a news release:
Kathy Sponheim of Michael Family Farms in Urbana, Ohio
Michael Family Farms is a family-run business. Fourth-generation farmer Kathy Sponheim works with her dad, brother and husband to run the Ohio Valley farm where her family grows red and white potatoes.
The farm is a year-round supplier for the Great Lakes region, providing potatoes that are always fresh and travel fewer miles from farm to table. Sponheim is passionate about educating families on healthy eating and the nutritional benefits of potatoes.
“Potatoes are a food kids love,” said Sponheim, a mother of three. “They’re a springboard to other vegetables and help kids eat a diverse diet.”
Her favorite family tradition is to host “potato bar” where everyone creates their own dish with unique toppings — a tradition she even incorporated into her wedding.
Juan Martinez of JAM Farms in Warden, Wash.
Juan Martinez owns JAM Farms with his wife in Washington’s Columbia River Basin, which he says has “the best weather pattern in the country.”
Martinez’s father has been farming in the region for over 40 years and is known affectionately as the “Potato King” for his years of service to the industry, including chairing the Washington State Potato Commission and even being featured in a commercial for a popular fast food brand.
Martinez knew he liked working on the farm with his dad from an early age.
“I am who I am because of my roots,” he said. “I come from an immigrant family. My dad migrated here when he was very young … Us Hispanics, we don’t give up. We do everything to succeed in life, to find that American dream. Once we find it, it’s beautiful, but it’s not easy. I remember my dad staying up late, only having one tractor. It was tough. Now he’s up to 1,000 acres, and as the farm grew, I grew.”
His favorite potato dish to kick off Thanksgiving is scrambled eggs and diced potatoes with chorizo and homemade refried beans wrapped in a homemade flour tortilla.
Brian Mahany of Mahany Farms in Arkport, N.Y.
At Mahany Farms in the Finger Lakes region, Brian Mahany focuses on innovation in potato breeding, working with Cornell University to develop new chipping varieties with high yields and long shelf lives.
Farming on the varied soils of dried lake beds, Mahany said he embraced the land’s natural diversity. He is committed to mentoring the next generation of farmers, sharing his experience and research to make farming accessible and successful for others.
“I want young farmers to see the potential in potatoes,” said Mahany, who balances his work with a love for the land and family time.
He said he is a “classic mashed potatoes and gravy kind of guy” on Thanksgiving.
Alison Sklarczyk of Sklarczyk Seed Farm, Johannesburg, Mich.
Sklarczyk Seed Farm isn’t an ordinary potato farm. It’s a tissue culture lab, built to grow clean, disease-free seed potatoes. Seeds from these potatoes are used at other farms in the U.S. and around the word.
Alison Sklarczyk and her family produce more than 10 million seed potatoes each year in hydroponic greenhouses, which provide a sterile environment to ensure disease-free seed potatoes. The farm uses technology to improve efficiency and make its operations more sustainable, including geothermal and solar energy, energy-efficient lighting fixtures and GPS and sprayer technology to optimize water consumption.
“If we don’t take care of the land we have, eventually it won’t be here,” Sklarczyk said. “Anything we can do to improve what we’re doing and how we’re living, we’ll take a stab at it.
“We live right here on the farm,” she continued. “We’re eating, drinking, and living right here. It doesn’t make sense not to take care of that.”
One of her favorite moments as a farmer was buying a bag of chips in Chile that turned out to be made from potatoes grown from Sklarczyk Seed Farm seed potatoes.
