The Irish Food Board (Bord Bia) will organize this year’s Irish National Potato Day on Friday, October 5. The annual celebration honors Ireland’s most loved crop and encourages consumers to recognize its nutritional value and experiment with new and exciting recipes.

This year Bord Bia is asking people to “Imagine a world without potatoes?” Tying in with a global campaign theme which highlights the importance and value of the world’s third most important food crop – which places after rice and wheat in terms of human consumption.

On the day, a range of events, talks and promotional activity will take place around the country to celebrate Ireland’s champion vegetable.

A number of events are planned around the country to celebrate the Potato Day and encourage Irish people to get involved at home and in their community.

These include:

The Carlow Rooster Festival, October 5-7;

‘Feile an Phráta’ – Dingle Food Festival, October 5-7;

Spud Fest, Newbridge House, October 6.

Lorcan Bourke, fresh produce and potato manager at Bord Bia, said: “Potatoes are strongly associated with Ireland, but what Irish people often do not realize is how popular the crop is right around the world.

“By linking in with this global campaign, we aim to illustrate the worldwide appeal of this vegetable, which is a totally natural source of carbohydrate and packed with essential nutrients. We have also compiled a huge selection of tasty recipes on our potato.ie website with influences from all over the world,” he said.

The US is also celebrating the potato with events and promotions during September, the potato month.