**Background:** Weather extremes, particularly droughts, are a major threat to food supply chains globally. While farm-level impacts are well studied, there is limited understanding of how different actors along the supply chain interact, cope, and adapt to droughts, and how individual resilience strategies affect the resilience of other actors and the system as a whole. The UK potato supply chain, with potatoes as the most important staple crop (~123,000 hectares, 4–6 million tonnes annual production), provides a relevant case study. Over 50% of the potato market value comes from processed potatoes, and 81% of production was under forward contracts in 2019. The supply chain has consolidated significantly, with a 74% increase in farm size and a 46% reduction in grower numbers between 2005 and 2019.
**Methods:** Data were collected between November 2017 and April 2018 via two methods: (1) semi-structured interviews with 27 key actors (17 growers, 2 processors, 2 packers, 1 processor-packer, 1 packer-retailer, 4 retailers), with retailers representing 59% of the Great Britain market share and growers farming 220–4500 ha each (combined ~20,000 ha); and (2) an online survey of 87 potato growers (from a total sample of 118 irrigators). Interviews explored drought impacts, coping strategies, actor relationships during crises, and long-term resilience. Data were analyzed using thematic coding in NVivo 12. Survey descriptive statistics complemented the qualitative analysis.
**Key Results:** Water shortages were the top water-related risk for nearly 60% (51/87) of grower survey participants, with 15 citing drought and 33 citing abstraction licence restrictions as their main concern. 42 out of 87 growers reported being unable to fully deliver on a contract due to water-related issues. Of those, 22 reported penalties specified in contracts, but enforcement was inconsistent (14 of 22 growers reported penalties being applied, while 8 non-grower participants said penalties were seldom applied). Drought impacts included reduced yield, common scab, greening, and high dry matter. All non-grower participants relied heavily on imports (mainly from Europe and Mediterranean countries) during past dry episodes. Long-term adaptation strategies by downstream actors included: (i) ensuring geographical spread of supply (UK and international); (ii) increasing reliance on forward contracts; and (iii) preferring growers with water security (e.g., on-farm reservoirs, efficient irrigation). Most interview participants believed the potato supply chain is more resilient now than in the past, but most proposed further actions focused on grower-level adaptation (e.g., increased water storage, drought-resistant varieties, soil management). A key tension was who should bear the costs of resilience investments, with growers feeling they carry the majority of costs while retailers and consumers are less affected.
**Clinical Implications:** While not a clinical study, this research has implications for food security and public health. Drought-induced supply disruptions can affect food availability, quality, and prices, ultimately impacting consumer nutrition and food access. The findings highlight that resilience strategies focused on individual actors (e.g., retailer reliance on imports, high quality standards, forward contracts with penalties) can create trade-offs that undermine systemic resilience, potentially threatening long-term food supply stability. The authors recommend a systems-thinking approach with improved vertical collaboration, trust, and coordination across the supply chain, and suggest that governments and retailers could play key roles in promoting resilience through grants, subsidies, tax exemptions, and public-private partnerships. The study underscores the need to move from silo-based to integrated resilience planning to ensure stable food supplies under increasing climate variability.