Painful tomato prices
By Anne Meyer
KSNW-TVWichitaUSA - Any way you slice it tomatoes are in high demand right now. It seems the supply can't catch up with the demand and there's a nationwide shortage.

Tomato prices are anywhere from $3.60 to $5 a pound.That's at the store.Imagine what the hike is like for local restaurants.

"We think a good tomato on a hamburger makes a sandwich just taste better," said Dale Stevens of Spangles.But, instead of passing along the higher cost of tomatoes to customers, Spangles is eating the cost.It's a bigger bite than you may think.

"We went from $10,000 cost in a month to a $40,000 cost in a month," said Stevens.

Other restaurants are cutting back.At Wendy's you can still get a tomato on your burger, but only if you ask.Some McDonald's stores are charging for extra ketchup.

So, what caused these killer tomato prices?The damage started with the hurricanes in Florida.

"And, coincident with this event there were unseasonable rains in California and also at the same time there was a pest problem with tomato crops in Mexico," said Hudson Riehle of the National Restaurant Association.

There's no need to start hording tomatoes.Prices should fall by the end of the month.