Here's why lettuce is hard to come by in Canada right now
Meals have been looking less green with the ongoing nationwide lettuce shortage with some shoppers paying nearly $5 for a head of imported Romaine lettuce.
And the shortage is impacting restaurants, including SanRemo, a Toronto-based Italian bakery.
In an Instagram post captioned “2022 is a weird time to be alive,” the restaurant posted a photo with the sign: “Attention: Due to a shortage of lettuce. There is NO lettuce in our sandwiches today.”
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The post went viral and caught the attention of Mucci Farms in Kingsville, Ontario, which supplied the restaurant with the much-needed locally-grown lettuce.
Not surprisingly, Canadian companies are seeing massive demand. Companies like the Alberta-based Vertical Roots are selling out of their hydroponic-grown lettuce in hours, with customers leaving behind empty display containers.
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One Twitter user pointed out all the issues and shortages affecting Canadians.
Another compared this year’s shortage in Children’s Tylenol and lettuce to 2020’s toilet paper shortage.
So what’s behind the shortage?
SPUD, a Vancouver-based online grocery delivery service, addressed the rising price of produce, stating that price hikes are due to a variety of contributing factors in a November 8 post.
California, which supplies 70% of Canada’s lettuce has experienced a combination of torrential rains and a heat wave, which affects the quality and volume of the crops.
Impatients necrotic spot virus (INSV), a virus that affects plants, has been more widespread this year “wiping out whole fields.” In addition, as growing season ends, inflation, fewer crops, and rising demand during American Thanksgiving has led to soaring lettuce prices.
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But even as lettuce from southern California and Mexico becomes available, high demand means that unfortunately customers can expect prices to remain high at least until the end of the year.