Dubbed "the great potato rescue", it is part of a plan to save the spuds from going to waste.
Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessWorld of BusinessTechnology of BusinessNYSE Opening BellInnovationWatch DocumentariesTechnologyScienceArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindHealthWatch DocumentariesCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroDiscover the WorldLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveChips, anyone? German farm gives away millions of potatoes after bumper harvest15 hours agoShareSaveJessica ParkerBerlinShareSaveGetty ImagesA vast stockpile of potatoes is being given away for free by a farm in the German state of Saxony, after a bumper national harvest .
Thousands of tasty tubers have been rolling into the country's capital, Berlin, since mid-January, with residents risking icy streets to bag their share.
Dubbed "the great potato rescue" it is part of a plan to stop about 4 million kg (8.8 million lb) of surplus spuds from going to ruin. Food banks, schools and churches are among the beneficiaries, according to organisers.
However, the enterprise was labelled a "disgusting PR stunt" by the Brandenburg Farmers' Association, which lamented the impact on local markets.
Germany is the European Union's potato-producing capital, and last year's harvest has left the market saturated.
Ultimately it is about "putting the potato in the spotlight as a valuable food," said Berliner Morgenpost editor, Peter Schink who helped spearhead the plan.
The newspaper teamed up with eco-friendly search engine firm, Ecosia, to co-ordinate and fund the distribution of the spuds.
Not wishing to discard its "magnificent tubers" back into the fields, Osterland Agrar says it's set to have bussed around 500,000kg to Berlin, and other parts of Germany and Ukraine.
"We can store them until the middle of this year," said Hans-Joachim von Massow, Managing Director of Osterland Agrar, the agricultural firm that ended up with all the potatoes, after a customer contract was cancelled and settled.
"Food is and will remain valuable, even if thoughtless do-gooders throw around free potatoes at schools and churches," said Timo Scheib from the Brandenburg Farmers' Association.
In Berlin, a special website lists 174 spud-hubs in and around the capital.
The BBC skidded optimistically along to a pickup spot at the city's de-commissioned airfield, Tempelhofer Feld, but there were no veggie sacks to be seen.
And when we sheepishly asked a local resident about whether she'd noticed any "frei Kartoffeln" in the area she seemed slightl
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