Massive potato donation from ‘The O’ providing food for thousands in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — The Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland may be closed down, but the owner isn't letting his food go to waste.

The iconic restaurant’s owner donated it to Hebron Church in Penn Hills, and the reverend there told Channel 11 it set off a chain of giving in our community.

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“Over these three to four weeks as we continue to clear these potatoes and other food stuff out of The O, it was sort of blessing upon blessing,” said Reverend Dr. Douglas Rehberg.

Just weeks before The O closed, its owner received a shipment of 35,000 pounds of potatoes – meant to be transformed into the restaurant's famous French fries.

Instead, they're being passed out all over Pittsburgh.

Hebron Church has given the potatoes to the Light Of Life Mission, Bridgecity Church in Braddock and even the 171st Air Refueling Wing near the Pittsburgh International Airport.

“We've seen sort of a spider web of people giving us names and information on other people, and we're able to bless them with financial provision with food,” Rehberg said.

The reverend estimates the potatoes will feed several thousand people.

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