If you happen to spot a giant potato at BJ’s Wholesale Club in Quincy on Thursday, you’re eyes are not deceiving you.
Weighing in at 6 tons — the equivalent of 32,346 medium-sized Idaho potatoes — the Great Big Idaho Potato will greet fans and help raise funds and awareness for Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA), the oldest and largest national organization dedicated to helping end senior hunger.
The 28-foot long, 12-foot wide and 11.5-foot tall Idaho potato was specially “cultivated” in honor of the Idaho Potato Commission’s 75th anniversary year in 2012.
It will be on display from 1 – 3 p.m. at 200 Crown Colony Drive in Quincy.
The Great Big Idaho Potato…
* Would take more than 10,000 years to grow.
* Is 1,102 times heavier than the largest potato ever grown, which weighed 11 pounds.
* Would take two years and nine months to bake.
* Could make 30,325 servings of mashed potatoes and more than 1.4 million average-sized fries
Watch the potato’s journey from concept to completion here:
