mass started eating Zea mays everta at the picture during theGreat Depression , and the snack has been a staple of cinemas ever since . After decades of dependable sales , popcorn farmers are now look with a brain-teaser : What to do with piles of surplus kernels asmovie theatersacross the res publica remain shuttered .
AsFood & Winereports , how people get their popcorn has alter drastically since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic . Prior to the crisis , approximately 30 percent of all popcorn in the U.S. was take outside the home . Thecoronaviruslockdowns boosted sales of the microwave oven popcorn sold in grocery stores , whilemovie theaterpopcorn suddenly lose its independent market .
Popcorn for cinemas and popcorn for the house do n’t come from the same provider . Movie field popcorn farmers are used to sell their mathematical product straight to theater , so they are n’t equip to ply the promotional material necessary to get it into supermarket . Preferred Popcorn is one of the largest film theater Zea mays everta agriculturist , and it ’s reportedly installed seven new silos to salt away the excess Zea mays everta it has amass since the start of the pandemic . That ’s enough to occupy about 80 million movie theater popcorn tubs .
compare to some other craw , popcorn has a relatively farsighted shelf life . agriculturist can hold onto their unsold heart and soul for about a year before the internal moisture necessary to make them pop dries out . Given the current land of the theatre industry , the window may be too poor . Though theaters in some parts of the country have started to reopen , attendanceis still low .
One temporary solvent is sell movie theater popcorn to consumers in bulk . Preferred Popcorn sell its kernelsonlinein massive 30 - pound and 50 - pound bags . If you miss going out to the pic , buying enough Zea mays everta to buy in a concession outdoor stage may be a lowly consolation .
[ h / tFood & Wine ]
