MC french fries cause statewide potato shortage 

Illinois is in a statewide panic over a potato shortage. Farmers all across Illinois say that this shortage has come out of nowhere, and the Illinois House is expected to pass an emergency bill to purchase potatoes from Idaho. 

What is thought to be the source of why this shortage is going on turns out to be Mount Carmel. The school’s sales of their fries have been so astronomical that stores all across the Chicagoland area have been out of potatoes. 

“All I want is some dang potatoes, and I can't get any anywhere,” said South Loop resident Mandy Mitchell at her local Jewel grocery store. “I can't even make my potato salad anymore.” 

MC’s lunch service is selling upwards of three tons of crinkle and curly fries a day, decimating the potato supply chain in the area. The people around Chicago are furious about the lack of potatoes but some people are taking advantage of the lack of potatoes and turning the shortage into a profit. 

The Merchant has found that there exists a black market on Instagram that has potatoes selling as high as $48.00 per pound. The even crazier thing is that people are actually buying the potatoes at that steep price. Desperation is setting in less than a week away from Thanksgiving, and the people need their potatoes. But some people are not willing to pay for the absurd potato prices and demand that their voice is heard in this matter. 

Outside many grocery stores today, people are storming the streets to protest the lack of potatoes and their prices. 

“It is just like March 2020,” said Mario Rodriguez outside an Oak Lawn Mariano’s. “You can't get any potatoes like you couldn’t get any toilet paper or masks.” 

People are also not just protesting at the stores. Mount Carmel had to cancel school on November 14 after students could not get in the building safely because people lined up around the school and blamed the lunch ladies for keeping the remaining potatoes in the building. 

For now, it looks like this shortage of potatoes will continue on until at least mid-December, resulting in many people being potatoless this Thanksgiving, and it's all thanks to Mount Carmel's fries.