For one Saturday each fall, a parking lot beside Canad Inns in Portage la Prairie turns into something between a farmers market and a harvest festival — except nothing is for sale, and the only thing anyone needs to bring is a bag.
The 10th annual potato giveaway is set for Oct. 24, 2026, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Prairie Alliance Church parking lot. Organizers expect to hand out roughly 75,000 pounds of potatoes and other vegetables, free, to anyone who shows up. There is no capacity limit, no registration and no means test. Bring a bag or a bucket, and fill it.
The event has been a decade in the making, and its roots are on a farm just north of town. Mark Peters, a third-generation farmer who owns Spruce Drive Farms, has been giving away potatoes to anyone who shows up with a bag since 2016. What began as a family effort on the farm has grown into a community-wide operation supported by volunteers and agricultural partners from across the region.
The scale of it is hard to picture until you try: 75,000 pounds is roughly 37 tons of potatoes, loaded by hand into the trunks, truck beds and back seats of whoever pulls up. Past years have seen between 50,000 and 80,000 pounds distributed, according to Peters, with a steady stream of people arriving throughout the morning.
The event has not always been easy to stage. In 2021, extreme heat and drought across Manitoba cut yields dramatically — Peters estimated his own crop was down about 50 per cent — and the family debated whether to hold the giveaway at all. They went ahead anyway, committing three acres to the event and leaning on other farms and businesses to help cover input costs. That year, an estimated 75,000 pounds still went out the door. Peters drew a distinction at the time between charity and generosity: charity, he said, is giving out of your extra when it makes sense; generosity is doing it when it doesn't make sense, and doing it anyway.
There was also a year skipped because of an early frost, a reminder that the giveaway is tied directly to the fortunes of the harvest. This year brought its own test. The fall was wet, especially through the first two or three weeks, and the event was postponed from its usual Thanksgiving-weekend slot as rain kept farmers out of the fields. Peters said the harvest was ultimately completed before the latest rainfall, and that once conditions dried up, the crop came off quickly. He said he was pleased with this year's crop and is looking forward to sharing it.
The later date and the 10 a.m. start are deliberate — organizers moved things back partly to account for potentially colder weather.
Potatoes are the headline, but not the whole story. Organizers expect carrots and other vegetables alongside red and white potatoes. Elm River Colony is expected to donate red potatoes, while Airport Colony helps with logistics and assists people loading produce into their vehicles. Community members with extra garden produce are encouraged to contribute squash, beets and pumpkins. Donations of sturdy potato bags are also welcome, since the whole enterprise depends on something to carry the harvest home in.
What may be most striking about the giveaway is who it is for. Peters has been clear that it is not reserved for people in dire need. It is for anyone who could use the food — and equally for people who want to pick up produce on behalf of a neighbour, a friend or a family member. "We aim to give to everybody too because I know that there are people that really do have needs in our community," he said.
That openness is part of how the event has evolved. In its early years, the giveaway was very much a farm operation. Over time it became something the wider community participates in — churches, colonies, businesses and neighbours, each contributing a piece. Peters has said the thing he values most is what it has done in the community: people come and help themselves, and then they bring potatoes to friends, family and others they know who could use them.
The result is a small Prairie spectacle with an outsized footprint. On Oct. 24, a church parking lot will fill with pallets and produce, volunteers will wave cars through, and tens of thousands of pounds of Manitoba soil will leave in the hands of strangers. It costs nothing to attend. It asks only that you bring something to carry it in.