Community Corner

National Potato Chip Day Poll: What's Your Favorite Salty Snack?

Dexter Patch wants to know what brand of potato chips readers prefer.

Potato chips remain the largest selling segment of the salty snacks market with $6.8 billion in sales in 2010, according to the Snack Food Association.

That's sure to increase as people all over the United States celebrate National Potato Chip Day today. This is the day when people everywhere munch on America's favorite snack food, the thin, crispy potato chip. And what better way than to celebrate by indulging in the salty snacks right here in Dexter.

POTATO CHIP TRIVIA:

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  • The average potato chip is between .04 and .08 of an inch thick.
  • Approximately nine out of 10 households in the United States consume at least one type of salty snack, with potato chips having the highest consumption level at 85 percent.
  • The first recipe for potato chips (called "fried shavings") appeared in Mary Randolf's Virginia House-Wife cookbook in 1824.
  • Potato chips were declared an unessential food at the outset of World War II and production of them was completely halted for a time. It was only after a protest that the War Production Board reversed their decision.
  • It takes approximately 10,000 pounds of potatoes to make 2,500 pounds of potato chips.
  • Prior to mass distribution, potato chips were dispensed in bulk from barrels or glass display cases in grocery stores. Throughout the years, potato chips have been packaged in cans, paper bags, cellophane, plastic, aluminum foil and cardboard tubes.
  • The average person eats the equivalent of 96 one-ounce bags of potato chips each year. That's equivalent to 6 pounds a year.


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