Today is Labor Day, signifying the end of summer and the start of the new school year. There are many healthy lunch options for children to bring to school. Freshly harvested apples are now available. Grapes and sliced watermelon also make great additions to lunch bags. Baby carrots, celery and salads are also excellent choices. Don't forget to add lettuce, tomato, onions, and peppers to those sandwiches. This week, retailers are highlighting grapes, watermelons, and corn. There were also plenty of ads for tomatoes, squash, salads, and peaches.
Total ad numbers this week were 300,368 a 5% increase from last week's total of 285,496. The total for the same week last year was 7% higher at 281,165. The total number of ads broken out by commodity groups: fruit 165,364 (55% of all ads), onions and potatoes 23,132 (8%), vegetables 105,521 (35%), herbs 3,549, ornamentals 2,902, and hemp 3,449. The number of ads for organic produce was 36,816, 12% of total ads.
The following are the prices of major advertised items (3,000 plus ads) this week, compared to the same week last year. Significant price decreases included red seedless grapes at 20% and red flesh seedless watermelons at 11%. Prices for marked yellow sweet onions-dry (per lb.) rose 19% and 5 lb. russet potatoes rose 17%. There were no significant decreases for potatoes and onions this week. Sweet corn rose 15%, however there were no decreases in price for vegetables this week.
For the full report on USDA, please click here