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BY NICOLE KAST

In print | Published December 2, 2004

Sky rocketing vegetable prices caused by severe weather across the country have led to cuts in Swarthmore’s vegetable offerings at both Sharples and Essie Mae’s snack bar, particularly with tomatoes and romaine lettuce.

Until prices decrease, tomatoes and romaine lettuce will be limited at Sharples and eliminated from the menu at Essie Mae’s completely. This year, tomatoes have almost tripled in price from the standard $18 – $24 a case to $60 a case. Similarly, romaine lettuce has increased from $18 – 22 to $40 a case this year.

Vegetable prices usually increase during the off-season, according to Dining Services Director Linda McDougall. The holidays also tend to spur inflation in food prices. But this year, hurricanes in the South and severe weather conditions all across the country have added to the problem. “There is just too much water, and the plants can’t grow,” McDougall said.

According to a local produce inspector, the situation is so bad that some produce companies have lost all of their seedlings. As a result, companies have to wait for a batch of newly-planted tomato seeds to grow.

McDougall said that the cuts in vegetables have nothing to do with budget cuts. The college simply had not budgeted for the huge inflation of prices. “We trying to be good stewards of the money that we’re given,” McDougall said.

Dining Services Cash Operations Manager Scott Tutton said the college would be wasting its money to pay such high prices for tomatoes.

“No tomatoes are worth what they’re charging, whether you have the money or not,” he said.

While the college is trying to limit the use of tomatoes and romaine lettuce, students will still see these vegetables in the dining options at Sharples. Instead of offering tomatoes at four different locations, however, students may only find raw tomatoes at one of the food bars.

“We go through an awful lot of tomatoes, and so now we’re just trying to use them more effectively,” Dining Services Administrator Janet Kassab said. To compensate, the staff is trying to incorporate frozen tomatoes into more of the meal options.

While the loss of tomatoes and romaine lettuce is disappointing, many students believe that the problem of inflated prices is beyond the school’s control. “It’s too bad that something as simple as tomatoes is being so overpriced that you can’t have it at the cafeteria or Essie Mae’s,” Ranga Atappatu ’08 said.

Other students were upset with the cuts. “I’m vegetarian, and I don’t eat tofu or any of the normal vegetarian foods, so tomatoes are kind of a staple,” Natalie Dunphy ‘05 said. "My parents were also upset about it when they found out. They wondered what they were paying for if I couldn’t even get vegetables," Dunphy added.

According to a study done by the Heinz Institude of Nutritional Sciences, tomatoes are the second most consumed vegetable in North America.

On average, every American consumes upwards of 90 pounds of tomatoes per year, according to the study.

Tutton said he hoped the college will not be forced to cut any more vegetables in the near future. According to Kassab, there is the possibility that peppers may also be limited if prices continue to rise.

These cuts are not permanent. Kassab believes that prices may stabilize again after Christmas, and once prices go down, the limitations on both tomato and romaine lettuce offerings will be lifted.

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