Kicker - Essential Mac & Cheese

NICK EICHER, HOST: Just a quick setup for a cultural reference to explain a difference between American and Canadian culture…

MUSIC: If I had a million dollars, if I had a million dollars, we wouldn’t have to eat Kraft Dinner. But we would eat Kraft Dinner. Of course we would. We’d just eat more. … I’d be rich!

OK, we mostly speak the same language, but the Canadians have a different term for everything.

So they call Kraft Mac and Cheese Kraft Dinner, and it’s a beloved staple food up there. 

Canadians consume it at a 55 percent higher rate per-capita than Americans. 

So, to keep the cheesy goodness flowing, Kraft’s Montreal plant has transitioned to around-the-clock production just to keep up.

Panic buying last month led to a 35 percent increase in demand nearly overnight. To meet that demand, the 960 employees in Montreal have started taking on extra shifts to accommodate the operation.

The plant manager said her people are very proud to do this, adding, “They feel they’re contributing to a noble cause, to serving the country.”

Welp, goes to show if you can’t put hockey on the ice, you can at least ensure a steady supply of Kraft Dinner, eh?

It’s The World and Everything in It.

(Photo/Francis Vachon, The Canadian Press)

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