Morrison said that the cost of tomatoes has increased by approximately 400 percent in three weeks. "I usually get tomatoes for around $13 to $15 per case, at the high end $18 per case," he said. "[Recently,] I saw a case of tomatoes which was $59.75."
Only offering one type of tomato at only one location during lunch and dinner is an attempt to avoid eliminating tomatoes altogether, explained Chef Manager Charlie Thompson. "We are trying to reduce, rather than totally eliminate tomatoes," he said.
Unusual weather in California and Florida hurt the tomato crop and consequently drove prices up and availability down. "The real problem is supply and demand," said Thompson. "Hurricanes in Florida and rain in California caused a tremendous loss of the tomato crop. Either you can't get tomatoes or they are exorbitantly expensive."
Morrison explained that this is not the first time he has noticed an increase in the cost of tomatoes, but only once was the situation as bad as the current one. "I have had products in the past, between growing seasons, that have been a little scarce or expensive," he said. "Only one other time have I had to eliminate an item from the salad bar. In 1996, the price of cucumbers went from $15 per case to $60 per case, a 400 percent increase. So I had to eliminate them."
Morrison is optimistic that the tomato shortage will be solved by the end of the week, and at latest by the end of this semester. "I think that this is going to be a short-term problem," said Morrison. "By Friday a case of tomatoes was about $44, less than it had been at the highest amount," he said. "On Monday a case cost $29. I am hoping that I will be able to return to the normal amount of tomatoes available and also hopefully bring back cherry tomatoes since the price is falling so much faster than we had anticipated."
Students have been understanding about the tomato shortage. "I had a couple students come up to me to ask about the tomato situation," said Thompson. "I explained it to them and they seemed to understand. Overall there has not been a huge outcry from students."
Morrison has yet to hear any student complaints. "So far I have not heard any complaints," he said. "I posted signs so students knew in advance what would be happening."
Students understand the need to cut back on tomatoes; however, many still miss them on salads and on sandwiches. "I personally like tomatoes," said Elinor Lee '05. "My salad will be sadder because I eat a lot of salads in Valentines."
Jen Lewkowitz '08 has not felt the effects of the tomato shortage because she doesn't use them. "I'm sure the shortage is having a substantial effect on many people, but for me personally, the effect is minimal," she said. "I never put tomatoes in my salad, which I have at least once a day."
Allison St. Brice '08 said that Valentine does a good job of supplying vegetables. "I can't complain. [Valentine] has a good supply of fresh vegetables to make salads," she said. "As students we should just deal with it until the crisis no longer exists. We can live without tomatoes."
David Schreiner '06, who identifies as a vegetarian, agrees that the large vegetable selection has made the tomato shortage tolerable. "It has basically meant that I am not always able to get tomatoes when I want, so my salads have been a little blander," he said. "But Amherst has pretty good other veggie options so the impact on me hasn't been that great."
Michelle Sanders '07 said that the tomato shortage could be turned into a food experiment. "Well, they could be nice and get us something fun like avocados. Or pineapple," she said. "Or just about anything that they don't normally have. Then it wouldn't be a crisis; it would be an experiment."