And direct consumer sales aren't picking up the slack, as Lamb Weston notes that people are less likely to cook french fries at home. The company estimates that about 80 percent of french fries consumed in the country are sold at fast-food chains.

It’s a tough time for the Idaho french-fry maker that calls itself the No. 1 supplier of “value-added” potato products in North America.

A large, Idaho-based french fry supplier said last week that a plant facility in Washington was closed during a quarterly earnings call.

A major McDonald’s french fries supplier is slashing jobs as cash-strapped customers steer clear of the fast food industry amid inflated prices. Lamb Weston, the largest producer of french fries in North America,