No matter your potato preference, it’s safe to say a tot always hits the spot. And that was certainly the case in Ontario, Oregon at the fifth annual Tater Tots Festival in September. Ontario is the birthplace of Tater Tots, and Simplot is proud to carry on that legacy at our local potato processing facility.
Community development agency Revitalize Ontario hosted the two-day tot celebration. The Simplot Ontario Plant was a title sponsor, helping make the festival possible.
The event at Lion’s Park in the city’s downtown featured live music, a car show and, of course, tots! In addition to our sponsorship of the festival, our Company hosted a very popular booth serving hot, free Ore-Ida® brand Tater Tots. Simplot employees cooked and served more than 1,500 boats of the tuber treats to hungry festival goers. Napoleon Dynamite would be proud!
Simplot also provided all food vendors with tots to serve and supplied a refrigerated truck for vendors to store their frozen tots.
Simplot Ontario Plant Senior HR Advisor Santana Esquivel has worked at the facility for more than 10 years. She pointed out that the plant has supported the annual event since its inception.
“We at the Ontario Simplot facility take pride in our continued support of the Tater Tot Festival and look forward in celebrating this great event for many years to come,” she said.
Esquivel also shared that this year she heard from people who traveled more than six hours just to get some Tater Tots. The event also drew visitors who were passing through the area and decided to stop in for something fun to do.
Simplot acquired the Ontario potato processing plant in 2022. The facility produces Ore-Ida® brand frozen potato products sold in grocery stores, as well as other items for Simplot’s wholesale customers.
Many of the plant’s approximately 600 employees live in the Ontario area. They are regularly involved in community events, including providing fries and tots to make celebrations even more festive and tasty.
As a family company, Simplot is committed to investing in the people and economies of communities where we do business, like Ontario. The Tater Tots Festival is just one of many examples of this passion for people in action.
Check out this video about the invention of the tot, featuring Simplot employees!
