Giant Touring Potato Stops At Loyola Marymount

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A 12,000-pound potato rolled into Los Angeles Wednesday, and it's not part of any Hollywood blockbuster.

Instead, the model spud is part of the Famous Idaho Potato Tour, which made its latest stop at Loyola Marymount University Wednesday.

 
The oversized potato model weighs about six tons – that's about 1,102 times heavier than the largest potato ever really grown, which weighed about 11 pounds, according to the Tour's website.

If a potato ever did grow to be that big, it would make more than 30,000 servings of mashed potatoes or 1.5 million French fries.

As part of the tour, Tater Team members give back to local communities along the tour route through a program they call "A Big Helping," and partner up with various charities to help raise awareness, money or food donations.

For more information, or to track the potato's progress, visit www.bigidahopotato.com.

(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)