Four tons of taters: Fry supply satisfies in record-smashing potato feed

Simplot provided the fries and built a custom cooker to belt out more than 4 tons of fries during the Thursday's annual French Fry Feed. Members of the Grand Forks community provided the appetites.

The annual Potato Bowl French Fry Feed, held in University Park, always aims to be a record-breaking experience, and this year's total of 8,154 pounds smashed the previous tater tally of 5,220 pounds.

"It's a long tradition of supporting the community and UND," Simplot's Tony Hodny said.

He said that workers from another Simplot plant from Idaho visited last year to start its own french fry feed at their Simplot plant.

Coincidentally, the Potato Bowl started in 1966 when Idaho State and UND, representing the two largest potato-growing regions, played against each other.

1/2: Dean Gerszewski loads raw fries to the fryer as people gathered for the Potato Bowl French Fry Feed in University Park on Thursday. Simplot provides the fries and has built a custom cooker to belt out almost three tons of fries during the event. "It's a long tradition of supporting the community and UND," Tony Hodny, a worker at Simplot said. (Photo by Joshua Komer/Grand Forks Herald)

2/2: French fries topped with ketchup were in abundance during the Potato Bowl French Fry Feed in University Park. (Photo by Joshua Komer/Grand Forks Herald)