Tomatoes by Request Only
The restaurant industry is gritting its teeth as it struggles to find solutions to the shortage of tomatoes that resulted from a surprisingly tough Florida winter. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture, anywhere from 60% to 70% of the state’s winter crop was destroyed by unusually cold winter weather this past January.
Florida is responsible for the production of approximately 75% of the tomatoes sold and consumed in the United States, and a spike in prices has surged as analysts predicted. Recently, a 25-pound box of tomatoes grown in southern Florida was selling for $30, a 300% jump from the same time the previous year when a box cost between $6.50 and $7, said executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange Reggie Brown.
The farmers are not the only ones complaining about the lackluster harvest. Restaurants and fast food chains across the nation have been forced to seek alternative options to cope with the shortage. In order to be conservative, many businesses are posting signs explaining the shortage and requiring customers to request the red fruit with orders.
In an interview with CNN, Denny Lynch, a spokesman for Wendy’s, said the chain was only offering tomatoes in sandwiches and burgers upon customer request.
“We’re doing this in all U.S. stores for two reasons,” Lynch said. “One is availability – we can’t get as many tomatoes as we need – and secondly, the color, size and quality has been affected by the deep freeze in Florida, so the quality might not meet customers’ expectations.”
In the case of Burger King, many store locations have even experienced full-blown outages leaving cashiers to take the blunt of customer complaints. However, a few chains like Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s have been able to avoid increases in prices by sourcing tomatoes from other producers such as Mexico. While using these different varieties of tomatoes serves as a temporary solution, some industry insiders have been wary that customers could perceive the temporary product change as a lower quality product.
Nonetheless, tomato lovers around the nation should not live in fear that their club sandwiches will never be the same again. Analysts are expecting a retreat towards normal price levels in mid to late April as the next harvest picking begins.
But until the next harvest arrives, comedians with bad jokes can breathe a sigh of relief as the nation holds tightly onto the few tomatoes that are still available.