Produce prices skyrocket with freeze in Mexico, Southwest

PORTLAND -- Get ready to pay double or even triple the price for fresh produce in the coming weeks after the worst freeze in 60 years damaged and wiped out entire crops in northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S.

The problem started less than a week ago, when our nation was focusing on the Superbowl and sheets of ice falling from Texas Stadium.

Farmers throughout northern Mexico and the Southwest experienced unprecedented crop losses. Now devastation that seemed so far away, is hitting us in the pocketbooks.

"Most people don’t think of Michigan as a big farming state "

You're right. I grew up in southwestern Michigan, and the produce was wonderful. Every Saturday my Dad, who had lived through the scarcities of wartime Europe, would take me with him to the farmers' market. He could never get enough of fresh Michigan produce, and to this day at the age of 90, he keeps a small garden and delights in food shopping. We'd also go to nearby orchards, pick fresh apples, cherries, peaches and plums. The blueberry plantations offered buckets of berries, and on the way home we could stop to buy melons, honey, maple syrup and other goodies from roadside stands. Dad always hunted and fished, so we really enjoyed Michigan's bounty. My mother could find a way to cook or preserve just about anything that came into her kitchen. They attribute much of their long healthy life to this diet, and I don't doubt it a bit.

I now live in Pennsylvania, which is another agriculturally rich state. Our family belongs to a CSA farm, and we enjoy locally grown produce year-round. Right now, the greens are a bit scarce, as they're all from the hoop house. However, we've had some greens throughout the winter, in addition to cabbage, rutabaga, turnips, carrots, squash, and other produce which was harvested and stored late in the fall. It won't be long before we have fresh field greens again - yum!

"Fresh strawberries are only three months away in my area. For a 3-4 week period we buy enough of them at the farm to be sick of eating them for the rest of the year."

I think I picked about 40 pounds of strawberries last year for making strawberry preserves. I make several types of preserves, but strawberry is everyone's favorite, so I really go for it!

One year ago, green peppers were selling in my market for 3/$1.00. Today, they are $1.29 EACH! I bought quite a few last year, cut, blanched and froze them and have plenty to last for quite awhile.

The produce manager said he hardly sells any at the current price, and they are having to throw most of them out. Go figure.

Why would a produce manager chose to throw out produce, rather than lower the prices?

"One year ago, green peppers were selling in my market for 3/$1.00. Today, they are $1.29 EACH! I bought quite a few last year, cut, blanched and froze them and have plenty to last for quite awhile."

Likewise. I scooped up several pounds of them from my summer farm share. Most of them were chopped up and flash frozen. For sloppy Joes or other cooked sauces, it doesn't matter if the peppers are soft from being frozen.

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