Just about anyone who was born in the United States since the 1950s is familiar with tater tots. These delicious grated potatoes that are formed into small cylinders, packaged frozen, and either baked in an oven or deep-fried have been a staple of school lunches for millions of kids. That’s probably why an entire holiday has been invented, a holiday known as National Tater Tot Day. This day celebrates the humble tater tot and is observed annually on February 2nd every year. 

The History Of  National Tater Tot Day

This holiday was invented by John-Bryan Hopkins—a food writer that hails from Birmingham, Alabama. He is also the founder of the website Foodimentary, which is sort of a food notebook. He created several food-related holidays such as Cupcake Lover’s Day, National Oreo Cookie Day, and of course, National Tater Tot Day. 

Of course, no one would’ve probably known that Hopkins had invented this holiday until he had to own up to creating it in 2012. He took responsibility for the holiday after a reporter from the Dallas Observer had contacted Ore-Ida, one of the biggest manufacturers of tater tots in the U.S., about the holiday. The company hadn’t heard of it, so Hopkins had to admit that he created the holiday in 2009. 

Fun Facts About Tater Tots

As we researched this holiday we soon discovered that there is a lot more to these little barrels of potato scraps than we realized. We discovered that it’s not only a treat in the U.S., but is loved by peoples all over the world. Below are just a handful of the fun facts we’ve discovered during our holiday research.

• Tater Tots are known as Tasti-Taters in Canada
• In New Zealand, they’re known as Hash Bites
• In Australia, they’re called Potato Gems or Potato Royals
• Homemade Tater Tots can be difficult to make.
• Tater Tots were invented in 1953 by F. Nephi Grigg and Golden Grigg.
• Tater Tots are a registered trademark of Ore-Ida.
• The first Tater Tots hit stores in 1956. 
• 70 million pounds of Tater Tots are eaten by Americans annually. 

Observing National Tater Tot Day

The best way to enjoy National Tater Tot Day is to simply make some Tater Tots for friends and family, or even for yourself. Tater Tots can be added to breakfast burritos, used to make Hot Dish, or covered with chili and cheese. They can also be covered in ketchup or used on kebabs with meat and vegetables. There are a million ways to enjoy this food, so people should definitely give it some thought.

Another way to observe this holiday, or at least spread the word about it, is to use the hashtag #NationalTaterTotDay on all social media accounts. Using this tag with photos of steaming piles of tots can be a great way to let everyone know that you’re enjoying this crispy, tasty potato-based food.