Is a french fry shortage on the horizon?

Even though I make most meals at home and try to eat a well-balanced diet, there are times when a trip through the drive-thru is the best way to get dinner on the table. When that happens, I usually can’t resist the allure of fast food french fries. Few things taste better than piping hot fries. That is why an article that said we may be facing a french fry shortage made me worried.

The article notes that cold weather and the impact of Hurricane Dorian damaged potato crops in Idaho and Montana as well as Canadian provinces. Not only are harvest totals down from previous years, but the potatoes that made it through the bad weather are smaller. Most french fries are cut from longer potatoes, so this puts pressure on suppliers for fast food chains that prefer long fries.

The fears of a shortage may be overblown, however. As Grub Street’s Nikita Richardson points out, production was down in 2018 by about the same amount and there was no discernable impact on any potato-related food product including french fries. It looks like none of us has to worry about not getting fries with our burgers.

Photo of Easiest French fries from Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman