Eagle, Idaho – November 01, 2026 -- On Halloween night, 15 households in 13 states offered trick-or-treaters a choice between candy and a genuine Idaho potato, and the spuds put up a real fight.

The Idaho Potato Commission ran the national "Trick or Tater" experiment on October 31, with homes stretching from Alaska to Massachusetts. To keep score, it created the "Idaho Trick or Tater Indicator," designed to test whether America's love of Idaho potatoes could rival its love of Halloween candy. The Commission supplied every household with both potatoes and candy, and the choices were left to the kids.

A Pennsylvania home ran out of potatoes before candy

Patrick Foy, who has offered a candy-or-potato choice for more than two decades, handed out 200 pounds of Idaho potatoes in just 97 minutes. Candy was still left in the bowl when the potatoes were gone.

Fargo trick-or-treaters picked spuds over sweets by more than two to one

At Kayla Dornfeld's home in Fargo, North Dakota, kids took 137 potatoes and only 67 pieces of candy.

Candy kept its crown in Idaho, but potatoes took more than a quarter of the votes

First-time participant Kinsey Amezcua recorded 73 candy takers against 28 for potatoes. More than one in four trick-or-treaters still chose a spud, a result that surprised her. She says she wants to do it again next year.

Kids held potatoes overhead like trophies, shouted "POTATOES!" and ran down streets to tell others that someone was giving out spuds.

The cast ranged from an Alaska "potato house" to a desert tortoise

Participants included Alaska pastor Matt Schultz, whose home is known as the "potato house," and Nebraska emo rocker Branden Pierce Sahs, who goes by "King Pumpkin Man." Colorado children's author and illustrator Kaz Windness drew faces on her potatoes and offered them up for adoption as pets. A California family took part with members from 87-year-old Great Grandpa Norm, who worked on the Apollo missions, to Terri, their desert tortoise.

The Commission is already recruiting for 2027. People who want to join the next Trick or Tater team can share their story on the program's page at IdahoPotato.com.