$9.99 organic red bell peppers at Edge of the Woods are up from $6.99 a few years ago; celery rose to $3.25 and blueberries to $4.25.
31% nationwide grocery inflation since February 2020 has hit small grocers especially hard because they lack the buying power and supplier contracts that large supermarket chains use to lock in prices.
Flooding at a Branford supplier, an East Coast spring freeze and heat waves cut produce harvests, while the Iran war pushed fuel costs higher and wholesalers tripled fuel surcharges passed to the store.
Labor shortages have added another layer: fewer farmworkers after immigration crackdowns and fewer truck drivers after English-proficiency rules and a 2025 halt to driver visas tightened produce transport.
Customers are still shopping at Edge but some are shifting from organic to conventional items, and the store expects food prices—especially vegetables and beef—to keep rising this year.