Gail Balkcom of Columbus awoke Tuesday with a taste for some juicy tomatoes but had to pay a little bit more when she arrived at the supermarket.
Balkcom spent almost $3 a pound for tomatoes at the Piggly Wiggly Supermarket on River Road instead of the usual $1.59 a pound. Prices on tomatoes and other produce have increased at least 20 percent or more after an unexpected freeze in Mexico Feb. 3-4 while producers already were dealing with an earlier freeze in Florida.
“It’s bad but I like my tomatoes,” Balkcom said while waiting for a taxi outside the supermarket. “I use them for sandwiches.”
Jasper Mount of Columbus didn’t notice a difference in prices but had heard they would spike.
“Well, I’m not rich,” he said. “I heard the news the other day about the report.”
In addition to all types of tomatoes, the list of affected produce includes beans, cucumbers, bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini squash and eggplant, said Woodrow Clay, assistant produce manager at Piggly Wiggly.
“The quality is nowhere near what it was,” Clay said. “We’ve thrown away a lot more stuff.”
Read the complete story at ledger-enquirer.com