Free Fry Day? You bet — J.R. Simplot Co. will serve ’em up at JUMP in July

The J.R. Simplot Co. will fire up its monster fryer and dish out hot crispy fries at the first Free Fry Day. From 4 to 7 p.m. on National French Fry Day, Thursday, July 13, you can grab a serving of hot fries and a cool drink on the house in Celebration Circle on the 9th Street side of JUMP, 1000 Myrtle St., Boise. And you also can bring a donation for The Idaho Foodbank.

Simplot’s giant fryer can churn out 2,000 pounds of the crispy potato slivers in an hour. The agri giant debuted it at the 2016 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at Albertsons Stadium where the company served up free fries to thousands before the game.

This french fry free-for-all also is to thank the community for its patience during the long construction period for Simplot’s headquarters and JUMP that impacted Downtown traffic for nearly two years.

Fun facts about french fries

▪  Fries are not from or related to France. The word “french” relates to how the potatoes are cut, i.e.: home fries.

▪  French fries are thought to have originated in Belgium in the late 1600s.

▪  They made their first appearance in America during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency (1801-1809).

▪  In 2014, the folks in Grand Forks, North Dakota, put away 5,130 pounds of fries in a day and set a world’s record for the largest single serving of fries, according to the World Record Academy. Those spuds were courtesy of Simplot’s fry plant near that city.

▪  The Guinness World Record for largest french fry serving is held by Eagle’s Twin Oaks Farm. It was 1,003 pounds of fries.

This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 7:32 AM with the headline "Free Fry Day? You bet — J.R. Simplot Co. will serve ’em up at JUMP in July."