Spuds up for grabs Saturday at Lions’ annual sale

This Saturday morning, the first 550 customers will be able to grab a bag of locally grown potatoes for $15 during the Wheat City Lions Club’s annual spud sale on Brandon’s North Hill.

Sales start at 8:30 a.m. in an empty parking lot on the west side of 18th Street, directly across from the Kelleher Ford dealership.

Even as the Lions are setting up, people are waiting in line, their hands extended with a fistful of dollars, said club treasurer Steve May.

“It’s a pretty good deal to get a 50- to 60-pound bag of potatoes for $15,” May said.

“They sell so fast that we’ve even had people tell us to raise our prices, so we don’t run out,” he added with a chuckle.

This has been an above-average year for potatoes, said producer Mark Keller of Shilo Farms. He has grown and donated the Burbank russet variety to the Lions Club for about 20 years.

The Burbank is a prairie dry potato and is known for its oblong shape and brown skin. It’s fluffy on the inside when baked, boiled, mashed or made into french fries.

“Potatoes like cooler weather, but we had a quick start to the season with a warm May,” Keller said.

“It may have seemed like it was hot, but it never really got too hot because of the smoke.”

Keller’s major client is the McCain Foods processing plant, but he’s always pleased to donate about 55,000 pounds to the Lions.

“It’s tradition,” Keller said.

“We do it every year and we’re going to keep doing it so they can raise money,” he said. “I’m familiar with what the Lions Club does for the community, and whatever they do is positive.”

On Monday, Keller delivered a truckload of the freshly harvested potatoes to Brandon Correctional Centre.

Inmates have been placing them in bags and into a 50-foot trailer for Saturday’s sale, said Brian McVicar, a Wheat City Lion and past superintendent of the jail.

“I got that going last year, so this is our second year on the grounds,” McVicar said.

Volunteers with the Lions club used to bag the potatoes, but members are aging, making it more difficult, McVicar said. The average age of members is 80 years old.

“I stopped in at the jail, and they’re doing a great job,” said McVicar.

“I let the men — about half a dozen of them — know that we probably wouldn’t be able to do this anymore without their help, and one of the guys was grateful to know. They were grateful for the feedback.”

Since 2020, potato sales have raised almost $50,000 for local charities, including the YWCA Westman Women’s Shelter, Samaritan House Ministries food bank and Salvation Army.

In the last two years, funds helped people with disabilities enjoy their own day at their own pace during the Manitoba Summer Fair. The Lions Club paid for the midway and a light lunch.

As Lions treasurer for the last 16 years, May said members make sure every dollar stays in the community.

“We have so many fundraisers, but bingo is the only one that we do year round. And we have our Grey Cup Bonanza scratch tickets for sale now. That’s when you try to match the score during the quarters and in the final of the game,” he said.

“So, when it comes to the potato sale, we do what we can because food’s expensive, people are looking for deals and we want to help them out.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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