Just a few potatoes left of the 42,000 pounds up for grabs.

Cars lined the streets in Park Hill, with people carrying empty bags, boxes, and carts. Some arrived a little too late for “Potato Palooza,” which saw 42,000 pounds of spuds disappear in 90 minutes.

The nonprofit We Don’t Waste hosted the potato giveaway Monday morning, expecting the event to last until noon. By 10:30 am the potatoes were gone.

“We have mobile markets twice a week, so based off that, we thought we knew roughly what to expect,” said Caroline Hissong, We Don’t Waste’s senior communications and marketing manager, who wore a potato costume for the event.

Caroline Hissong with We Don’t Waste dressed for the occasion.

But an article about the giveaway published by the news outlet Denverite last week got shared by a lot of people from across the country. “There were people telling me that people in California were sharing it with them. ‘You’re in Denver. Why don’t you go pick up some potatoes?’”

That attention led to an early crowd at the We Don’t Waste location at 6090 E. 39^th Ave. and an early end to the giveaway.

Hissong said she was sorry if people missed the potatoes, but invited them to come to any of the organization’s upcoming market days.

“We heard a lot of people saying, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you existed. I’m going to go to the markets now that I know that you’re here.’”

The potatoes came from a logistics company that got them from a farmer. We Don’t Waste was asked if they could take 42,000 pounds all at once.

“Why not? Let’s give it a go and see how it goes,” Hissong said. “This was one great experiment, and it was successful.”

Would they do it again?

“100% yes”, Hissong answered. “I think we’ve established that there’s clearly desire.”