Inflation Hits the Market Basket
How price increases are affecting the micro-economy of farmers markets
STORY BY Kate Gonzales PHOTOS BY Debbie Cunningham
In agricultural communities , adapting to change comes with the work . This year , the region ’ s farmers have endured a late-season frost that wiped out crops , a wildfire that threatened rural land in July and the ongoing drought . At the same time , they ’ ve been dealt another blow : the highest inflation rate in more than 40 years .
“ Everything from the polypropylene bags that we buy to make our logs into — those have gone up 50 percent . The straw has gone up over 50 percent in the short nine months that we ’ ve been in operation ,” says Courtney Young , who , with her husband Levi , launched the gourmet mushroom farm Underdog Acres last fall . They use straw to produce a higher yield of their blue and pearl oyster mushrooms , which grow naturally on wood . “ We were basing our business model on costs that were stable for the last decade .”
But the high inflation rate has put pressure on the business model of some of these farms and influenced the buying habits of some shoppers . “ I ’ m more conscious about how much I buy and what I ’ m looking for ,” says Greg Traverso as he shops at the Amador Farmers Market in Sutter Creek . “ I used to come and just buy a lot , and now I try not to waste .”
Inflation is increasing the prices of many products customers put in their baskets at the farmers market .
Calculating the market basket
While peaches , berries , zucchini and tomatoes were in abundance this summer at local markets , shoppers felt the sting of inflation . During the popular Sunday market at Sacramento ’ s Arden Fair Mall in July , organic farmer Ruthanne Jahoda relays a customer ’ s observation that prices seem to be up $ 1 at every stand from the week before .
32 comstocksmag . com | September 2022