THE ONLY ONE DOING THIS EVERY HALLOWEEN, KIDS IN COSTUME FILL THEIR BASKETS WITH A SMORGASBORD OF SWEETS. BUT THERE’S A NEW STAR OF THE SPOOKY SEASON. PICK WHATEVER YOU WANT. YOU CAN GRAB TWO. THAT HIS KIDS SAYING TRICK OR TATER. DID YOU JUST GET A POTATO? YES. VIDEOS OF HOMEOWNERS HANDING OUT POTATOES ON HALLOWEEN HAVE BEEN SPROUTING UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN RECENT YEARS, LEAVING SOME PUZZLED. BUT SURPRISINGLY, MOST ECSTATIC. YOU WANT MORE POTATOES? CAME NEAR A POTATO. PAT FOYE HAS BECOME KNOWN AS POTATO MAN IN LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA. I SAY TO EVERYBODY, CANDY POTATO. AND THEY SAY THINGS LIKE POTATO ALL DAY. THE LITTLE TODDLERS, THEY LOOK AT IT LIKE STUNNED. AND FORMER LONGTIME NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT KEVIN TIBBLES HAS BEEN HANDING OUT THE STARCHY SPUDS FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES. IT STARTED OUT AS A JOKE. IF YOU WANT TO COME BACK AND GET SECOND HELPINGS OF CANDY, YOU’RE GOING TO GET THREATENED WITH A POTATO. THE NEXT THING I KNOW, EVERYBODY WANTS A POTATO. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM PASSING OUT POTATOES? EVERYONE’S GOT A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR. EVEN ME. AND I’M THE CRABBIEST GUY ON THE BLOCK. BUT WHEN I WHIP OUT A POTATO, EVERYBODY’S GOT A SMILE ON THEIR FACE. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! AS MORE TRICK OR TREATERS ARE POISED TO STRIK
Trick-or-Tater: Man hands out potatoes for Halloween
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Updated: 3:20 PM CDT Oct 31, 2025
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As Halloween approaches, Pat Foy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is preparing to hand out potatoes to trick-or-treaters, a unique tradition that has been gaining traction on social media.Videos of homeowners offering potatoes instead of candy have been sprouting up online, leaving some puzzled but many ecstatic.Pat Foy, known locally as "Potato Man," said, "I say to everybody, candy or potato? And they say things like 'Potato all day,' the little toddlers look at it like stunned, and they end up taking the potato because, frankly, it's bigger."Former longtime NBC News correspondent Kevin Tibbles has been handing out potatoes for two decades."It started out as a joke. If you want to come back and get second helpings of candy, you're going to get threatened with a potato. The next thing I know, everybody wants a potato," Tibbles said.While the origins of this potato trend remain unclear, Potatoes USA, a marketing and research organization, has embraced it, promoting Halloween-themed recipes for the vegetable.Tibbles shared his experience, saying, "Everyone's got a good sense of humor, even me, and I'm the crabbiest guy on the block. But when I whip out a potato. Everybody's got a smile on their face."As more trick-or-treaters this year are poised to strike Yukon Gold, the potato trend continues to grow.
LANCASTER, Pa. — As Halloween approaches, Pat Foy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is preparing to hand out potatoes to trick-or-treaters, a unique tradition that has been gaining traction on social media.
Videos of homeowners offering potatoes instead of candy have been sprouting up online, leaving some puzzled but many ecstatic.
Pat Foy, known locally as "Potato Man," said, "I say to everybody, candy or potato? And they say things like 'Potato all day,' the little toddlers look at it like stunned, and they end up taking the potato because, frankly, it's bigger."
Former longtime NBC News correspondent Kevin Tibbles has been handing out potatoes for two decades.
"It started out as a joke. If you want to come back and get second helpings of candy, you're going to get threatened with a potato. The next thing I know, everybody wants a potato," Tibbles said.
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While the origins of this potato trend remain unclear, Potatoes USA, a marketing and research organization, has embraced it, promoting Halloween-themed recipes for the vegetable.
Tibbles shared his experience, saying, "Everyone's got a good sense of humor, even me, and I'm the crabbiest guy on the block. But when I whip out a potato. Everybody's got a smile on their face."
As more trick-or-treaters this year are poised to strike Yukon Gold, the potato trend continues to grow.
