In the parking lot of a closed Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, Pa., cars lined up for an a-peel-ing offer.
Tulpehocken Township, Pa.-based Dieffenbach's Potato Chips recently got its hands on 40,000 pounds of Grade-A russet potatoes left behind by the hurting restaurant industry, and the company didn't want to see them go to waste.
Dieffenbach's gave away thousands of boxes filled to the brim with 20 pounds of spuds
"You can just do so much with the potato. I love 'em," said Terese Rippond from Laureldale, who wasn't going home with a small-fry amount. "I have a list for my neighbors, and hopefully I can get to them as well."
She was part of a line of traffic that wrapped around the mall, spilling out onto surrounding roads, including the bypass.
Distribution started around 10:30 a.m. By 12:30 p.m., every last potato was gone.
"When we got here at 7 a.m., there was people who were already here," said Dwight Zimmerman, Dieffenbach's vice president of sales and marketing. "It's just an unbelievable response.
Larger, 50-pound boxes of potatoes went to food pantries.
"We're all about saving potatoes and giving back to the community," said Zimmerman.
It's one way to butter up a crowd.