TOMATOES: More news as supplies really get short out of Florida due hurricane Ida coming through the lower part of the state. Late California tomatoes are nearly cleaned up and the quality has been just fair. The fall crop out of Florida has been low in volume due to earlier hot weather and high humidity which caused virus to spread and affect tomato volume from there. Mexico is finishing in the Baja area and the mainland is just getting started, but due to high demand the prices will stay high until about the end of December. We have seen tomato prices going up and they will continue to go up as long as demand is there. This week is a good example of how retail drives a lot of the pricing of foodservice items. Even vine ripe items, such as Romas, are on the rise. The 25 lb. extra large are up $8, large are up $8 and mediums are up $9. He 25 lb. No. 2s are up $4 as the tomatoes are sorted tighter. The Utility pak is up $6. Grape tomatoes are up $1 and Romas are up $7. As the prices go up the demand could go down, but don’t look for that to happen until probably early to mid December – if it does happen. Read below in the What’s New? for some money saving tips on tomatoes.

LETTUCE:  We’ll see high prices in some lettuce items for a while as production shifts from California to Arizona. The move should be done in 1 to 2 weeks and hopefully we’ll see pricing drop. Romaine has been the biggest issue and even the large processors are raising the prices on a few items again this week. The 6/2 lb. chopped and shredded Romaine is up $2 more and the 4/5 lb. Romaine blend is up $1. This has brought the price increase totals to $4 on the chopped and shredded and $2 on the Romaine salad blends. This translates to about 2 cents per ounce increase on the chopped and shredded and about 2/3 rd of a cent on the Romaine salad – hopefully things will change as we move to Arizona. The Romaine hearts are up in price for the same reasons with poor quality to sort through being the biggest reason. The 24 count carton Romaine is up $2 and iceberg is up $2 also. Iceberg quality has been fairly good, but we might not see the “Snoboy” label all of the time.  

PEPPERS:  The large and medium green bells are both down $1 – no change in choppers. The 15 lb. yellow bells are down $3. The 25 lb. chopper and 15 lb. No. 1 red bells are both up 50 cents. 

MELONS:  The 8/9 count honeydews are down $1.50 and the 15 count cantaloupes are down $1.50. The cantaloupes are showing more green on the outside and we will probably be moving to Mexico this week. Watermelon is down $3 out of Mexico.

STRAWBERRIES:  The price is finally going back down - $4 this week. We are still seeing some green tips and shoulders, but there has been more overall color, although they are still a little light in color inside.

VEGETABLES: Cucumbers are down $1. Eggplant is down $1. Green onions are down $2. Both zucchini and yellow squash are down $1. English cucumbers are $3. Cauliflower is down $2.