Pricy lettuce just the tip of the iceberg for Alberta consumers

Lettuce is the latest item to rise in price. The cost of the produce staple has doubled for some Alberta vendors, forcing them to use alternative leafy greens, and that price increase is just the tip of the iceberg.

The cost for lettuce leaves a sour taste in the mouth of Carbivore Subs owner and chef Ear Briones.

“We saw the price and we were like ‘oh my God,'” Briones said.

‘It’s usually two dollars a head, usually three — I’ve seen maybe like four. It’s gone up to about five or six at this point, which I know doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you factor it in like a case size, it comes out to almost $160 for a case,” Briones said.

This forced Briones to find a green alternative for his subs. Now he will use arugula.

“Arugula seems to be the more affordable but also crowd-pleasing option,” Briones said.

READ MORE: Salad shortage, price hikes force some restaurants to cut vegetables from menus

“We have seen increasing shortages of various products in recent years due to a range of issues, including supply chain challenges, labor shortages and inclement weather,” Michelle Wasylyshen, the national spokesperson for the Retail Council of Canada said in a statement. . Global News.

“Right now, grocers across North America are experiencing lettuce shortages due to unfavorable growing conditions in California and that is reflected (in) prices that consumers can see on store shelves right now,” Wasylyshen said. “Grocers continue to secure shipments of lettuce from alternative suppliers and we expect both the price and supply of lettuce to normalize in the coming weeks. We apologize to consumers for the inconvenience and thank them for their patience.”

Micky Tkac, the senior director of procurement at SPUD.ca, said they turned to local Alberta growers like Inspired Greens for their greens.

“We do have a good alternative, which is lettuce grown in greenhouses – they (inspired vegetables) are actually grown in Lethbridge,” Tkac said

Tkac is also seeing other popular vegetables rise in price.

“Broccoli and cauliflower are also getting record high prices,” Tkac said. “Normally we might see prices in the $32 to $60 or $70 range, but what we’re seeing now is $120, $150.”

Not only are consumers paying more for these vegetables, but now they are harder to find and of poorer quality.

“If I’m paying $10 a head for cauliflower, I want it to be really good quality, but they basically just pick whatever’s decent enough in the field to pick,” Tkac said.

For now, to make sure you get your vegetables in your diet, it’s encouraged to buy frozen until the cost drops.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.