Value of Potatoes
While our ag producing bretheren in the beef and dairy industries are suffering because of the economy, potatoes might be an opportunity to take up the slack. For example, we have run dozens of stories showing that consumers are reducing their budget for beef. Frank Muir, President and CEO of the Idaho Potato Commission has gotten pro-active with restaurants. “We’re actually encouraging chefs across America to try to help consumers keep coming to their restaurants and one way to keep prices down on their menus is to increase the portion of the plate to the potato, because if you put an Idaho potato on there, they’re not going to complain because it’s wonderful, it’s got all the flavor, the texture that they’re looking for and a big signature potato says that the restaurant cares about what they’re serving. They can trim back a little bit in terms of the protein amount to make sure that they don’t have to increase prices during this time. Folks still don’t have any more time. They still have to eat out in many cases. And so we’re just encouraging chefs to take advantage of the economic value of the potato to add value to the meal.”
