Once again, Piedmont Natural Gas employees met at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee this week to pack sweet potatoes as part of the Sweet Potato Rescue Initiative, a two-year project funded with a $100,000 grant from the Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation in 2016.

 “We’re excited to partner with Second Harvest on this initiative that not only supports the community’s health and wellness, but promotes sustainable business practices at the same time,” said Stephen Francescon, community relations manager for Piedmont Natural Gas.

Second Harvest rescues sweet potatoes from the harvest that do not meet size and shape standards set by large commercial buyers. These sweet potatoes are just as nutritious but often may be discarded because of their appearance. By preventing such waste, this initiative already has rescued more than 475,000 pounds of sweet potatoes and helped generate more than 400,000 meals.

Potatoes are distributed fresh across Middle Tennessee during the growing season through Second Harvest’s network of Partner Agencies. Because everyone deserves access to fresh produce.

Photos by Alan Poizner (@apoizner).