What would fall and Halloween be without pumpkins?
Hopefully, we’ll never have to find that out. But this year, pumpkins could be harder to come by – and more expensive.
Pumpkin farms in Illinois, where 90 percent of our pumpkins come from, have been getting hammered with rain. That rain is causing many pumpkins to rot prematurely. One Illinois farmer said he may lose up to a third of his crop.
We’re told that most local pumpkin patches get their pumpkins from across the country since pumpkins aren’t typically grown in Florida.
Sanlando United Methodist Church in Longwood, which will have its 20th annual pumpkin patch this year, gets its pumpkins from New Mexico – not Illinois.
“Our supply is perfect. We don’t have any problems with our supply and we’re expecting all three deliveries as normal,” said patch organizer Kristi Carnesale.
If local chain retailers get their pumpkins from Illinois, it’s possible you could see higher prices if demand stretches greater than the supply.
A company official with Libby’s, a canned-pumpkin manufacturer out of Illinois, said he believes the company will be able to meet fall holiday demand.
Sanlando’s pumpkin patch organizer said if there is a shortage of supply, they won’t change their prices.
“Prices here will stay the same. Prices run from a dollar up to $40. Its prices per size of pumpkin,” said Carnesale.