The nationwide tomato shortage has hit Bakersfield College.
The campus cafeteria has put up a notice telling students that tomatoes are not available there at this time. For many students, this is not a problem; for others, only a minor nuisance.
“I eat in the cafeteria from time to time, but this is really not a big deal to me,” said student Hawk Blumer, 18. “I don’t even like tomatoes.”
But for tomato lovers, this is bad news.
The shortage was created mainly by bad weather conditions. Hurricanes Charley and Frances in August and September forced produce farmers in Florida to replant tomatoes that were meant to be sold in November or December, according to a recent Reuters report.
The report also said restaurants are seeing the consequences of the shortage.
Wendy’s International Inc., for example, canceled a promotion for its Chicken Temptations sandwich, which was topped with a slice of tomato.
The company said this move would hurt its stockholders earning this quarter, though the report gave no estimate of how much it would be affected.
The shortage has hit Italian-themed restaurants particularly hard, because they use a large amount of tomatoes, the report added.
The price of tomatoes, as a result of the scarce quantity of quality tomatoes, has skyrocketed by 167%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A pest called the tomato psyllid, which affected parts of Mexico and California, also has contributed to the shortage, according to the California Tomato Commission.
Carmen Martinez, a grill cook in the BC cafeteria, said she expects tomatoes will be in full supply “when we come back next semester.”
“All I know right now is that tomatoes are too expensive,” she said. “The supermarket where I shop sells tomatoes for over $1 each, and it would cost us (BC Food Services) $100 a case.”
Food Services Manager Alex Gomez put the price at around $50 a case. “It’s still pretty high,” he said. “Because of the bad weather, the price of tomatoes is really high and the quality is really poor.
“It’s not cost effective, and I wouldn’t want to serve a low-quality product. The flavor in the tomatoes that are available is just not there.”
Most of BC’s supply this time of year comes from Mexico, he said.
A statement on the California Tomato Commission’s Web site downplayed the impact of the shortage and told consumers that supplies will only be tight for a few weeks.
The statement also said the impact on state growers should be minimal.
Still, bad weather simultaneously hitting all major tomato-producing areas has left BC students with skinny burgers.
“I was disappointed to see the sign saying they had no tomatoes,” said Janey Sosa, 38, a psychology student. But she was not surprised.
“I’ve seen the prices at supermarkets, and they are really high,” Sosa said.
Managers at Bakersfield branches of The Olive Garden restaruant and Save Mart Supermarket refused to comment about the recent tomato shortage.