Happy National Potato Day!

Greetings friends! It is I, Tater Potato Tot, Official Potato Ambassador to HHSL.^*

I am here today to tell you all about the wonders of my namesake tuber in honor of National Potato Day, which is this Sunday, August 19th.

According to the USDA, one lovely Russet potato contains 16% of your daily recommended amount of fiber and 35% of your daily recommended amount of vitamin C. Clocking in a 170 calories for a medium potato, this American staple is a good source of carbohydrates and nutrients, excellent for endurance athletes.

Since I am more of a couch potato than an elite athlete, I will just nom on my delicious foot, leaving plenty of yummy carbs for all you gym-goers.

Everyone knows about Boston’s close association with 19th century Irish immigration, a mass movement sparked by the devastating Potato Famine, a blight that wiped out the potato crop of 1846 and devastated it in the years following as well. These lost potatoes would have been a whopping 60% of the Irish food crop in those years. Here in Boston, the influx of immigrants from Ireland in 1847 was said to increase the population of the city by 30%. Boston’s connection to the famine has been memorialized by the Boston Irish Famine Memorial, a short walk from HHSL. A lesser-known memorial marks a spot just a quick jaunt from my stomping grounds in Charlestown- the Potato Shed Memorial, a quirky sculpture marking the site of the potato storage sheds along Millers River. This is where millions and millions of potatoes shipped down from Maine were stored until a massive fire in 1962 destroyed the structures.

Since I am a dog and will eat anything, including literal garbage, I would call myself a fan of potatoes. If you are looking for some things to do with potatoes, how about making these amazing roast potatoes, or this classic potato-cheese soup, or some delicious potato gnocchi?

However you choose to celebrate National Potato Day, rest assured knowing that I, Tater P. Tot, HHSL Official Potato Ambassador, approve.

^* In real life, I live with one of the HHSL librarians. I am not an Official Potato Ambassador. But my name is actually Tater Potato Tot.