Surplus potatoes are distributed

Osterland Agrar Gesellschaft in Froburg has started distributing its surplus 4,000 tons of potatoes. The food banks in Berlin and Saxony are the main customers, said Managing Director Hans-Joachim von Massow. "We are delivering around 200 tons to Berlin this week. We are delivering around 60 or 70 tons to Saxony. We are also delivering another 100 tons to other countries."

The crops also go to schools, daycare centers and private individuals, who are often in need. "Some are not in need, but overall, I think it mainly affects people who don't normally buy potatoes in the supermarket," said von Massow.

Don't destroy the potatoes, eat them

The Saxon agricultural company was left sitting on the potato mountain after a good harvest. Many farmers had brought in a record harvest in 2025, said the managing director. "Our idea is not to destroy the produce, but to eat it together."

This is why Osterland Agrar Gesellschaft launched the distribution campaign together with the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper and the internet search engine Ecosia. The "Leipziger Volkszeitung" and the "Sächsische Zeitung" later joined in.

"With this campaign, we want to draw attention to agriculture and the fact that it never harvests as much as you have just ordered, but sometimes more, sometimes less. And we want to draw attention to the potato, which is a great local superfood," said von Massow.

Collection fee of 100 euros per tonne

The potatoes are free, but it costs a fee of 100 euros per tonne to collect them. Organic farmer Martin also took advantage of these conditions on Monday to stock up on around four tons of the produce.

He himself had a poor harvest. "We would still like to make potatoes available to people, not as organic potatoes of course, but then actually at an absolutely humane price, where only the costs are covered," he said. It is a good thing that food is preserved in this way.