Farmer lends helping hand thanks to spare 12 tonnes of potatoes
Luke Abblitt is instead donating stock he's been unable to shift
A local farmer left with 12 tonnes of potatoes he can't shift is instead donating his stock to food banks.
Rising costs and falling demand have made it tough for farmers, with many struggling to shift potatoes due to oversupply.
"Unfortunately the potatoes I've got are now coming to the end of their lifespan, so I didn't have much of an option and I thought I should do something good with them," farmer Luke Abblitt said.
"We started giving them away to charities, food banks, pantries, people who really need food."
Luke looks after around 400 acres of land owned by Cambridgeshire County Council near Ramsey, and produces the likes of potatoes, wheat, sugar beet and barley.
'Giving to people who need it'
In fact, earlier this year, Luke started to take orders through social media and has delivered some of his produce in Fenland, Peterborough and Huntingdon.
So far, he's had a positive response from food banks that he's contacted.
"I am very happy I'm giving them to people who need the food," Luke added.
"Potatoes are such a nutritious food, they're so versatile; if you have a bag of potatoes, you could make endless meals with them in different shapes and forms."
Since 2022, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) said Luke has spoken to more than 1,500 schoolchildren about how British farming works and where food comes from as part of being an NFU Education farmers for schools ambassador.
Last year, Luke raised concerns around the future of farming based on the Government's inheritance tax plans for farmers.
The Government then announced that farmers would only be taxed on assets valued from £2.5 million, rather than £1m following months of protests.