Stormy Weather Leading to Pricier Thanksgiving

Vegetables for Thanksgiving dinner may be pricier and punier because of severe storm damage to Southern Florida farmland.

“Right now, much of America’s Thanksgiving dinner is under water,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford said.

Tropical Storm Gordon caused an estimated $200 million to $225 million in damage to vegetable crops in southern Florida, which supplies about half of the nation’s winter produce.

In addition, the state could lose up to $70 million of its sugar cane harvest, state officials said. About 100,000 acres of cane were damaged, but the full extent of the loss would not be known until after Thanksgiving.

High winds shredded thousands of acres of leafy vegetable crops, such as lettuce and celery, and torrential rains washed away other crops, including squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, peppers, eggplants and potatoes.

Gordon zigzagged across Florida early in the week, reaching hurricane strength Thursday off North Carolina. It weakened into a tropical storm again Friday and turned back toward Florida, causing forecasters there to again keep a wary eye on its track.

Ray Gilmer, spokesman for the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Growers Assn., said Gordon’s timing was particularly bad because growers are just about to enter the peak period of their growing year.

“During the winter months, a lot of these vegetables are only grown here in Florida,” Gilmer said. “That’s why the timing of this storm was so critical.”

Gilmer said standing water was the biggest threat, as crops too wet to save would have to be replanted.

“The next few days will decide,” Gilmer said. “When those fields dry out, you’ll be able to tell if (the plants) can be saved or if there’s been too much damage.”

Only citrus growers escaped the storm relatively unscathed. Ken Kennedy, owner and president of United Indian River Packers Inc., said Gordon would cause brief delays in harvesting that shouldn’t result in higher prices.

Judy Decker, a spokeswoman for American Stores Inc. in Dublin, Calif., said the crop damage in Florida has created more demand for California produce and pushed prices higher there.

While some retailers said Friday they had no choice but to raise prices, several other companies said they’ll stick to advertised specials and honor discounts on Thanksgiving menu favorites.

“We expect to be able to maintain our pricing throughout the Thanksgiving holiday period,” said Stan Sorkin, a vice president at Pathmark Stores Inc., which operates supermarkets in the mid-Atlantic states. “After Thanksgiving, we expect prices to rise on the commodities affected by the hurricane.”

Al Bagoly, produce director for Food Gallery, a chain of four Pittsburgh, Pa., supermarkets, said he bought bell peppers for $10.50 a box last week, before the storm hit the Florida coast. He said suppliers are now asking $19 to $24 a box.