MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Shoppers across Alabama may soon feel sticker shock in the produce aisle as a combination of crop losses in Florida and ongoing dry conditions closer to home squeezes supply and pushes prices higher.
At Sweet Creek Farm, a popular stop for fresh fruits and vegetables, owner Reed Ingram, who also serves as a Republican state representative for Alabama House District 75 (Pike Road and parts of Montgomery County), said he’s seeing shortages and wholesale prices he has never experienced in a decade in the business.
“Today, we’re having a lot of problems getting produce because the produce is so scarce,” Ingram said.
Late frost in Florida cuts supply
Ingram said this time of year, about 90% of the produce his business sells typically comes from Florida, where warm-season crops start earlier than in other parts of the country.
But he said a late frost just weeks before Easter damaged crops across the state.
“It killed everybody’s tomatoes and killed everybody’s corn, peppers,” Ingram said.
Because Florida’s early-season harvest helps supply much of the Southeast, he said the loss ripples through markets and restaurants well beyond the farms themselves.
Tomato prices jump from $14–$18 to $70 a box
Ingram said Sweet Creek Farm used to move 80 to 100 cases of tomatoes a week. Now, he said they’re “lucky to find 20 cases a week.”
The price jump has been even more dramatic.
“Used to, the wholesale value is $14 to $18 a box, and now it’s $70 a box for the same size box,” Ingram said.
Customers haven’t necessarily seen those increases at the register yet, he said, because the business has been absorbing the higher costs.
“We didn’t go up on our costs. But we have to absorb that cost so our profits are really small,” Ingram said.
Families worry higher prices make healthy eating harder
For shoppers, higher produce prices can quickly change habits . especially for families trying to eat healthier.
“I think it’d be a lot harder to eat healthy, like in general, when you want to use it in recipes or just as a snack,” customer Summer Stanford said. “It’s a lot harder to incorporate it into your diet when it’s expensive.”
Drought conditions in Alabama could worsen the problem
While Florida’s frost reduced supply, Ingram said dry fields in Alabama could add pressure in the coming weeks.
Standing in one of Sweet Creek Farm’s fields, he described conditions he said are keeping seeds from germinating.
“As you can see, this field is dry as a bone,” Ingram said.
Ingram said the farm planted okra and watermelons nearly three weeks ago, but little has emerged.
“We may have 10% that has come up in this field, if that,” he said. “If we don’t hurry up and get another rain, we’ll have to plow this field back up and plant again.”
He said that kind of delay can push the growing season back three to six weeks, extending the period of higher prices.
Restaurants may be next to raise prices
Sweet Creek Farm’s operation includes an on-site restaurant, and Ingram said rising produce costs can affect those menu prices, too.
For now, he said the business is holding steady . but that may not be sustainable.
“We’re going to have to raise prices if it doesn’t break soon because we can’t continue to lose money,” Ingram said.
‘We’ve never seen it this high’
Ingram said he’s been in business for 10 years, and the current spike is well beyond what he considers normal seasonal fluctuation.
“We’ve never seen it this high,” he said.
He said the highest he had previously seen for a box of tomatoes was around $38 to $40. Now, he said boxes are nearing $80.
What happens next
Ingram said it could take several more weeks before supply improves, depending on whether replanted crops recover and whether Alabama sees enough rain to support local growing.
In the meantime, shoppers may want to watch for price changes not only at grocery stores and produce markets, but also at restaurants that rely heavily on fresh ingredients.
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Dining and Cooking