Wendy Leung, volunteer executive director of Foodsharing Ottawa, which rescues and redistributes surplus food, couldn’t believe her eyes when an email arrived offering 100 batches of potatoes — each comprising about 18,000 kilograms, or 40,000 pounds.

“You have no idea what this means to … the community,” Leung told Manitoba farmer Isaiah Hofer on CBC’s The Current. “We call it the Ottawa Great Potato Rescue.”

“When you’re blessed with so much, it’s just good to give back … and I’m just glad we could do that,” Hofer said.