By: Jennifer Finan
Guest Writer

Prices on Californian produce will rise significantly within the next two years. The head of Dining Services at St. Lawrence University Cindy Atkins said the University depends on Californian produce and the prices will soon be rising.

Students, faculty and community members are impacted by the Californian drought 3,000 miles away. “I tore through my meal plan this year and I didn’t change my eating habits. As an athlete I am still under what I should have and I am gone many weekends,” said Noah Bunton, a SLU student and Californian resident. The prices and budget for Dining Services increase each year depending on the consumer price index for food, according to Cindy Atkins. This year the increases were low and students should not be running out of money, furthered Atkins.
“We are slowly being impacted. It is not the big impact that I thought we were going to see right off,” said Atkins who was planning on making budget cuts due to of the forseen price increase in Californian exports. The North Country community and food distributors nation wide rely heavily on Californian food production. Most produce consumed by the United States comes from the sucessful agriculture of California. “Climate gives us the advantage. Other areas have to import what food we are able to grow year round, which is changing with the drought,” said Jay Van Rein from the Californian Department of Agriculture.

Drought in California is leading to economic and agricultual distress reaching outside of state boarders. In 2014 California suffered 2.2 billion dollars in economic cost from the 900 billion gallons of water lost according to UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. “Farmers are producing lower harvests and they won’t be able to make enough money. This will trickle down to the public and the prices will likely rise well into next year,” said Danielle Nierenberg the president of Food Tank.

“Effects will happen sooner than we think,” said Nierenberg. The growers are feeling the effects now where consumers will be feeling it later said Atkins. She continued, “That first year you don’t see it, it is the second and third year and that is where we are right now and it takes five or six years to get back to the level that they were before the drought.” Farmers and citizens in California are suffering from higher prices in food and water bills said Noah Bunton.

The drought is reducing available water for farmers to irrigate their crops, said Jay Van Rein. The Californian government and farmers are working toward minimizing the economic effect the drought might have in the future. “Farmers plant what we call permanent crops such as trees and nuts that are long term compared to field crops like corn or cotton. This way the farmers do not have to rotate the fields as frequently. Even during drought years the permanent crops can be farmed,” said Van Rein.

Farmers are tapping into the ground water to compensate for the drought. This is a short-term solution but other efforts must be taken to relieve the economic stress, said Jay Van Rein. Desalinization plants have the to potential to replenish some of the water lost, said Bunton. He continued, “Fourty five minutes from me they just opened up a nuclear reactor as a desalinization plant to generate more water. The plant in Sand City generates something like 98 million gallons of fresh water each year.” Solving the Californian drought is crucial coming into the third year with limited water resources. The prices and changes in produce available is likely to change for next fall, said Atkins. Dining services is working to help minimize how St. Lawrence University is affected in the upcoming years.