ShareThisLettuce and tomatoes have recently become a luxury in some restaurant chains as bad weather in Florida and Mexico have set the global supply chain askew.
Subway sandwich artists are stacking fewer tomatoes and green peppers. At many Wendy's outlets, a sign on the drive-thru advises customers that they may need to ask for a tomato if they want one.
Between Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, the price paid to a farmer for a head of iceberg lettuce jumped from 57 cents each to $1.19, increasingly close to the price charged directly to shoppers in grocery stories, according to data compiled from U.S. Department of Agriculture reports by the Western Growers Association.
A year ago, during the week of Feb. 21, farmers were paid 33 cents per head of iceberg lettuce.
For a 10-pound carton of vine-ripe tomatoes from Atlanta, the cost was about $31.25 as of Feb. 18. Just a month and a half prior, the price was $20 for tomatoes from Florida, according to USDA data.
"Farming is worse than going to Vegas," said Western Growers' Tom Oliveri, only half-joking about the inherent gamble on the industry. The group's director of trade practices and commodity services said there was no way to predict when the produce markets might return to normal.
At Subway shops, the usual six slices of tomatoes and six strips of green peppers have been pared to four each for a foot-long sandwich, said David Berri, a California franchise owner.
"Because the costs have gotten out of control, we went to this formula," Berri said. The restaurant is still eating some of the cost to build its sandwiches. Berri may be using one-third fewer tomatoes and green peppers on sandwiches, but he estimates he and other Subway owners are paying three times more in some cases. Customers can still ask for more of the vegetables at no additional cost, he said.
"It's been a really tough year, overall, in terms of weather," said Kathy Means, a spokeswoman for the Produce Marketing Association, which represents the entire supply chain from growers to the restaurants and grocery stores they supply.
There was the late 2010 freeze in Florida and then one in Mexico, followed by severe rain in California. That has left produce supplies less than certain, and what is left usually isn't the best quality produce despite an elevated price tag.
While restaurants can limit what they dole out, they can't as easily raise prices because their menus are set.
"In grocery stores you won't see it go away, you'll see the price go up," Means said.
(Contact Kimberly Pierceall at kpierceall(at)PE.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)
Must credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
