National Tater Tot Day

National Tater Tot Day, observed February 2nd, celebrates the small, cylindrical fried potato snack that has become a lunchroom and comfort-food staple across the United States. Tater Tots were invented in 1953 by brothers F. Nephi Grigg and Golden Grigg, co-founders of the Ore-Ida food company, as a clever solution to a manufacturing problem: their frozen french fry production left behind a large volume of leftover potato scraps that would otherwise go to waste. The Griggs seasoned the shredded scraps, formed them into small plugs, and froze them, creating a new product entirely rather than discarding the byproduct. "Tater Tots" is technically a trademarked name owned by Ore-Ida, though it's widely used generically for similar fried potato bites made by other brands. The product became especially associated with American school cafeterias starting in the 1950s and 1960s, cementing a nostalgic place in many people's childhood memories. On National Tater Tot Day, people celebrate by making or ordering tater tots, dressing them up with toppings like cheese and chili for "totchos," or reminiscing about cafeteria lunch trays.