World's Largest Potato Comes to West Hartford

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The world’s largest potato on wheels stopped by West Hartford on Monday night as part of its cross-country tour promoting the Idaho potato.

While on its journey, the Big Idaho Potato Truck is helping dozens of charities through its “A Big Helping” program.

On Monday night, the tour stopped at MOOYAH Burgers on North Main Street to help raise money for Hall High’s Safe Grad Party 2016.

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The Big Idaho Potato Truck features a replica Idaho potato that weighs more than 6 tons (the equivalent of 32,346 medium-sized Idaho potatoes).

“The Big Idaho Potato Truck has become the cornerstone of the Idaho Potato Commission’s marketing program,” Frank Muir, President and CEO of the Idaho Potato Commission, said in a press release. “By promoting the truck in our national advertising campaign, participating in events with hundreds of thousands of attendees, and making stops at key retail and food service operations, we’ve been able to engage millions of consumers of all ages across the country.”

During its seven-month tour, the truck will travel approximately 28,000 miles and be heralded as the main attraction in several parades and festivals across the country, including Thunder Over Louisville in Kentucky, the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C.; Portland Oregon’s Rose Festival Starlight Celebration; and the Sea Fair Festival in Seattle, Washington.

Members of the Big Idaho Potato Truck team say the most frequently question they get asked on the tour is still, “Is it real?” and while they say they’ll never tell, they do say an Idaho potato of that size:

• Would make 30,325 servings of mashed potatoes
• Could make more than 1.4 million (1,455,570) French fries
• Would weigh 1,102 times more than the largest potato ever grown, which clocked in at 11 pounds.

To date, the truck has visited 48 states (all but Hawaii and Alaska), traveled through 3,000+ towns/cities and traveled 100,000 miles since its 2012 launch celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Idaho Potato Commission.

The Big Idaho Potato Truck was built by Chris and Sharolyn Schofield of Weiser, Idaho with the help of a few specialized contractors. The truck took a full year to design and build.

For more on the truck and where it’s going next, visit the website here.

Photo courtesy of BigIdahoPotato.com