Rising food prices affect Penn Dining

Gas prices aren't the only costs that are skyrocketing.

Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted that food prices would increase by 4.5 to 5.5 percent this year due to the rising cost of fuel and ethanol and unpredictable weather patterns in crop-growing nations.

At Penn the effects are more muted, but rising costs have still taken a bite out of the revenues of retailers - and may move on to the pockets of students soon.

One of the most direct and immediate results for students is more expensive meal plans - dining plan prices increased an average of 2.5 percent this year, according to Business Services spokeswoman Barbara Lea-Kruger

Retail options like Starbucks at 1920 Commons and Houston Market have also seen an increase in prices.

Penn Dining is working to keep costs at bay through "menu planning and product selection as well as controlling waste," Lea-Kruger wrote in an e-mail.

Outside of Penn's dining system, the effects of rising food prices can also be felt at popular eateries like Au Bon Pain, which has three outposts on campus. When asked whether it was impacted by rising costs, Ed Frechette, vice president of marketing at ABP, replied, "In a word, yes. Order of magnitude: high."

Au Bon Pain will increase menu prices at the end of this month and will "try to spread out across as many items as possible so there's no sticker shock," said Frechette, who added that high grain prices have been particularly difficult for the bakery's bread.

At ABP's Penn locations, cookies, soup and bottled water prices will each go up a dime and tuna salad will increase by 20 to 30 cents, among other changes.

"We review prices twice a year but have not had to take an increase like this in at least three years," Frechette said. Despite price increases, he noted that the stores have not seen any drop-offs in sales.

Off-campus restaurants are facing similar struggles.

Allegro Pizza was hit especially hard with fuel surcharges and flour prices that "went up really high," according to general manager Louie Kosmatos, who also oversees Greek Lady, under the same ownership. He added that Greek Lady has not raised its prices but that Allegro has for certain items.

"We've definitely seen an increase in the price of food - a lot of our farmers have had to raise prices because fuel and other costs have gone up for them," said Claire Connelly, general manager at the White Dog Cafe on Sansom Street.

White Dog has not raised its prices recently because "with the economy the way it is, it's affecting everyone so we're trying to avoid charging customers more," Connelly said.

"In general we're seeing customers and students spending less across the board," she added.

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