PALO ALTO Calif. Freezing temperatures throughout California have triggered a spike in the price of local produce, according to processors and foodservice operators in northern California, an epicenter of the buy-local movement.
The impact on organic produce has been particularly severe. The contract foodservice firm Bon Appetit Management Co. here, which specializes in organic and sustainable foods, claimed it is having trouble getting supplies for its various accounts.
One of the company’s general managers said the price of tangerines has gone up $10 a case and that “the cold snap will virtually decimate the state’s avocado crop far into next year.”
Officials at Planet Organics, a San Francisco-based supplier of organic meals and groceries, said prices for broccoli and oranges have shot up 40 percent to 70 percent.
The mid-January freeze may have destroyed 20 percent to 30 percent of California’s 2007 avocado crop, according to the California Avocado Commission. It said that weeks will be needed to calculate the damage accurately.
