"prices" news and stories

As food prices rise, so do school lunch costs, reports the New York Times. Meal prices have increased about 25 cents across the country as schools struggle to feeds students with increasingly expensive fruits, vegetables, milk and bread.

While some schools are raising lunch prices, others are reducing food management costs, buying cheaper plates and cups, or replacing individual rolls with slices of French bread. The U.S.D.A. recently issued a report called "Meeting the Challenge of Rising Food Costs," to help school districts learn to stretch their budgets.

Many worry that price increases are hitting schools hard just as administrators are getting hip to the idea of healthier - and more expensive - fare, replacing chicken nuggets with baked chicken breasts, french fries with fruit. Will we go back to the bad old days of "economy loaf" and iceberg lettuce salad?

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• Read about one of Boston's most in-demand bartenders
• Delicious, creamy local goat cheese makes for great croquettes, squash blossoms, tomato soup...
• Want to make our own cheese? Feeling frustrated? Try a kit
• Doughnut Plant has an unbelievable selection of sweet, fluffy pastries, managing to thrive without the hype that so many competitors rely upon
  
• And if you can't make it to Doughnut Plant, try your hand at making your own orbs of sugary goodness
  
• A Boston couple becomes the first U.S. business to exclusively import African wine made by indigenous producers
  
• Find out how the owners of one Rhode Island-based grocery store can afford to keep prices so low
  

Pizza, that inexpensive, staple food of students and late night revelers, is about to get a little more expensive. Pizza shops and other businesses that use a lot of flour are feeling the pinch of rising prices and are starting to pass those costs along to the consumers. According to a report on Philadelphia's NBC10, in addition to being effected by rising fuel costs, flour prices are also going up as farmers plant corn in place of wheat in order to meet the demands of alternative fuel manufacturers.

Pizza will still remain relatively inexpensive, with slice prices going up in $.25 and $.50 increments. Whole pie might run you a buck or two more than they did in the past.

[via NBC10]

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California has been hit by an unusually bad cold snap this year and the effects of the freezing weather have really taken a toll on crops - and the bad weather isn't even over yet. Some estimates say that at least 75% of the citrus crop has been destroyed and others say even more, drawing from the more than 80% that was ruined the last time the state suffered a severe cold snap. The weather is so bad that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the 10 agricultural counties that have been hardest hit by the weather.

86% of the lemons and 21% of all the oranges sold in the US are grown in California, which makes it the largest citrus-producing state in the country. The loss of crops is devastating to the farmers, but it will also hit consumers hard at the grocery store. Orange and lemon prices are already increasing and the wholesale price has more than doubled in the last seven days alone. Juice prices will increase as well. "The price spike is expected to hit supermarkets in the next two weeks, when the present inventory dwindles."

While citrus is taking the biggest hit, basically every winter crop in California has been damaged, from avocados to lettuce, and consumers across the country will feel the effects of doubling and tripling prices in the produce department, especially if they want to buy US-grown fruits and vegetables.

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Jonathan already put together a comprehensive guide to sparkling wines and champagnes for your New Year's Eve plans (or any other celebratory occasion), but the LA Times has a guide that is separated out by price, rather than by region, which will certainly help you make a quick decision based on your budget. Take a look at their full list for detailed descriptions of the flavors of each bubbly and details of where they found the best prices for every bottle. Here is the abridged version, by price:

$20 or less

• Caves de Bailly Brut de Charvis, N.V. - $11.
• Bele Casel Prosecco, N.V. - $13.
• Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut. - $17.

$21-$30

• Duval-Leroy Brut, N.V. - $25.
• Drappier Carte d'Or Brut, N.V. - $30.

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