I’ve been cleaning out my Downloads folder, which is really just a junk drawer with a search bar, and I found a letter I sent to the Idaho Potato Commission in the fall of 2023.

Some background. The Commission ran a TV spot called “From My Garden.” A backyard gardener serves up potatoes she grew herself, and the joke is that she should have bought Idaho potatoes instead. It was meant to be funny. I watched it once and went straight to the keyboard.

Here’s what I sent. Unedited, typos and all (I checked, there aren’t many, which is a personal best).

Dear Mr. Jamey Higham:

I am writing to express my disappointment and concern regarding your recent commercial, which negatively portrays a backyard gardener for using her homegrown potatoes instead of those from the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC). As a resident of Washington State and an avid backyard gardener, who also supports local growers, I find this commercial particularly disheartening.

Idaho, known for its rich agricultural heritage, should be celebrating all forms of agriculture, including small-scale, personal gardening. It’s perplexing and disheartening to see IPC, an organization founded in 1937—a time when victory gardens were not only praised but encouraged—now lambasting individuals for similar resilient and self-sufficient practices.

Gardening is a way of caring for one’s family, promoting health and welfare, and being resilient; especially in these challenging economic times. It seems contradictory for IPC to ridicule such initiatives. While I understand the importance of supporting Idaho’s potato industry, there should be room to acknowledge and respect personal gardening efforts.

Your commercial seems to overlook the reality that many people, like myself, would likely purchase IPC products during off-seasons when backyard gardens may not yield enough produce. This approach not only alienates potential customers but also reflects poorly on an organization that I thought prided itself on providing for individuals and families, regardless of beliefs and/or practices.

As a result of this disappointing campaign, I am compelled to inform you that I will be going out of my way to avoid purchasing potato products grown in Idaho. This decision was not made lightly, especially considering the close proximity between our states. It may be challenging, but I may go without potato products until my own crops are ready for harvest.

While I am not expecting a response, nor am I certain that one could sway my current feelings, I felt it was important to voice my concerns. It is indeed a sad day when a neighboring state’s actions contradict the values of self-sufficiency and resilience that I hold dear.

Sincerely,
Cindy Samco
Disappointed from Washington State

Reading it three years later, a few things jump out.

I signed it “Disappointed from Washington State,” like a letter to the editor from 1954. I stand by that.

I used “disheartening” twice in two paragraphs. I was clearly very disheartened.

And I told a complete stranger, in writing, that I might give up potatoes until my own crop came in. That was a bold promise from someone who likes hash browns as much as I do.

So, the follow-up report. Do I still check where my potatoes are grown? Every time. Do I steer around the Idaho bins at the store? When I can. Have I bought Idaho potatoes since? Yes. But never on purpose. They sneak in. A potato doesn’t always announce where it’s from, and I’m not going to interrogate a bag of tater tots.

I never heard back. Not even a form letter. I did say I wasn’t expecting a response, so technically they honored my wishes. Also disappointing.

I will say this: I went looking for the commercial on YouTube to link here, and I couldn’t find it. The only copy I could dig up lives on an ad-archive site. I’m not saying one strongly worded letter from Washington State got it pulled. I’m just not not saying it.

My opinion hasn’t moved an inch. A woman digging potatoes out of her own backyard is not a punchline.

Here’s the part the Idaho Potato Commission would enjoy, if they were reading. Which they’re not. I stopped growing potatoes this year. They take up a lot of garden real estate for what they give back, and that bed has better things to do now.

So I buy all my potatoes these days. Just not from Idaho. On purpose, anyway.