Fresno, California (KFSN) – Autumn celebrations are not immune to inflation.
Like most other products and services, the price of pumpkin picking has gone up.
Ross Nakata is the owner of Planet Pumpkin in northeastern Fresno and says he was shocked by the posters when he picked up pumpkins from local farmers.
“I mean we knew it was going to be more,” he said. “I think in a sense, it was a bit of a shock. Everything went up. Everything related to organic farming went up.”
He says he tried not to pass on too much of the cost to customers. Raising prices by 5 cents per pound
This year, Nakata noticed more need in the community as well.
Donate hundreds of additional pumpkins donated to hospitals, school districts, and Fresno residents
“The amount exceeded between eight thousand and nine thousand pounds, so this year we saw that charitable requests increased by at least 25 percent,” he said.
At California’s Central Food Bank, higher in-store prices mean more people need services.
“Especially our elderly and disabled neighbors who live on a fixed income,” says co-CEO Kim Dilden. “There is not enough money to go.”
Last month, the food bank served 300,000 families. This month, it was about 10,000 more.
They expect to see more demand as Thanksgiving approaches.
The food bank is also affected by inflation in its own budget, as it struggles to expand funds to serve Thanksgiving dinner to 15,000 families.
Not only will food be more expensive — in some cases, expect less to choose from, says Ryan Jacobsen of Fresno County Farm Bureau.
“Overall, the star of the dish is the turkey,” he said. “There is a lot of discussion about shortages across the country. I encourage people to really pay attention. Frozen birds, get them earlier than later. If you’re looking for fresh, don’t wait until the previous Wednesday.”
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