BUTLER TWP. — Some farmers’ markets are raising prices to offset the rising costs of goods.
Monnin’s Fruit Farm said it’s paying three times more per pound for tomatoes and double for sweet corn.
“It’s apparent when you come in, you see the prices are much higher than in previous years,” said Logan Flatt of Monnin’s Fruit Farm. “It’s not by choice, and it’s certainly not our preference. We’re only doing what we have to do.”
Signs throughout the market explain to customers why produce prices have increased at Monnin’s Fruit Farm.
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The owners said it’s a supply chain issue that’s driving up prices.
“Watermelons are costing a fortune to come up from Florida,” Flatt said. “I understand the crisis that happened in Florida. They had a very late freeze and lost a lot of produce. Almost 2 billion.”
High prices are causing some local farmers’ markets to spend twice as much for a dozen sweet corn and three times more for tomatoes.
But some shoppers said that’s not stopping them from grabbing these off the shelves.
News Center 7’s Amber Jenkins approached Sharon Stroy while she was grabbing a few tomatoes.
“I supported Monnin for probably 40 years. The quality is fantastic. The prices, they can’t help. I’m sure they have to pay themselves,” Stroy said.
The owners said prices should decrease after some time, but for right now, they are paying more.
“When they go down, I’ll be here,” Stroy said. “I’m still here with the high prices because I love the quality.”
The owners told us that long-time customers like Sharon have kept local farms going through inflation and supply chain holdups, plus Ohio’s weather.
“There’s frost coming this weekend, so we might lose a bit more,” Flatt said. “But there’s berries out there, and we’re not interested in price-gauging the customer.”
“It’s Mother Nature,” said Layton Flatt of Monnin’s Fruit Farm. “It’s the game we gotta work around. It’s been a crazy spring.”
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