Potato Chip Shortage Seen: Potato chips may...

Potato Chip Shortage Seen: Potato chips may be in short supply for a few weeks this spring because of a record freeze that heavily damaged northeast Florida’s potato crop, industry experts predict. The potato chip industry had been counting on an early and abundant supply of potatoes from this area to replenish dwindling stocks, said Harold Willingham, southeastern area field manager for Frito-Lay Inc. But now the freeze has turned what was expected to be a bonanza into a season of gloom for potato farmers. The 26,000 acres of potatoes in St. Johns, Putnam and Flagler counties in northeast Florida fill a niche in the supply of chip potatoes for a few weeks each spring because they come in earlier than in other areas.