Alabama doesn’t have a state vegetable but neighboring Georgia does. So, each spring the people of Pike County anticipate the harvest of Georgia’s Official State Vegetable, the Vidalia Onion.

Wednesday, members of the Troy Exchange Club accepted the arrival of 11,000 pounds of sweet Vidalia onions and loaded the bagged harvest onto trucks for delivery to various locations around the City of Troy.

The Troy Exchange Club has sponsored the public sale of the famous Vidalia onions for 35 years.

“Back then, the Troy Exchange Club was looking for a fundraiser for our different projects,” said Otis Stone. “We considered selling Vidalia onions but we didn’t know if people around here would buy them. So, we got Troy University to do a study for us and they determined that the onions would sell. We took on the project and have been doing it every year since.”

Stone said the 10-pound bags usually out sell the 25-pound bags but not by much. This year the club members sold 288 25-bags and 380 10-pound bags.

Jerry Beckett, Vidalia onion sale project chair, said funds raised by the onion sale are used to support club projects.

“The onion sale funds our annual A.C.E. Awards and the “Tip” Colley awards,” Beckett said. “We use some of the proceeds for our National Day of Prayer Breakfast and we also support the Pike Regional Child Advocacy Center. So, when you buy Vidalia Onions from the Troy Exchange Club you are getting a delicious onion and supporting your community in several different way.”

Beckett said the Troy Exchange Club appreciates the support of its Vidalia Onion project and thanks everyone who made the project, once again, a success.