The case of the smiling potato

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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File this in the category of “only in Ashvegas:” a local church youth group is auctioning off a potato to raise money for Darfur relief. But this isn’t just any tater. It’s a tater with a smile.

What happened was that the youth group decided to hold a baked tater lunch recently to raise money for Darfur disaster assistance. As the auction page tells it:

“As they were preparing for the lunch and washing a LOT of potatoes, they came across a smiling potato. There it was in the sink with a big ol’ smile on it’s face. Well, who could really eat a smiling potato? I mean, the “Madonna” has shown up in a grilled cheese sandwich and a potato chip. Could the face of God show up in a potato?! Well, it felt like a cool sign that God was smiling on us! So, we kept the potato! When it was all said and done, we raised $2280 for relief in Darfur! We were blown away. It was a great day.

The “potato with a cause” continued to hang around, so the group decided they should try to sell it to raise even more money. They realize the situation in Darfur is dire, and they’re not trying to make fun. But as they say, “A little humor mixed with a little inspiration for a really important cause? The crisis in Darfur is a catastrophe that needs our attention. We hope you will help us help them. Buy our smiling potato!

So check out the auction.

Here’s the ebay link. Last we checked, the tater was going for $51. The auction has about five days left.