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lack of rain.
• In addition, supermarkets import many of their fruits and vegetables from other countries -- such as, bell peppers from Holland --so that they can keep supplies and prices in check even if one source isn't producing a large amount.
• Fruits and vegetables are also a loss leader for supermarkets. That means they're often sold at a loss in hopes of attracting shoppers who will spend on other items, says Lisa Schacht, president of the Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association.
• At farmers markets where consumers buy directly from growers, a spike in prices might be more pronounced. That's because the relentless heat is making it harder to grow certain fruits and vegetables.
• "Even if you irrigate your peppers, you're seeing a 30 percent reduction from the heat," says Bryn Bird, whose family owns Bird's Haven Farms, a farm outside of

Granville, Ohio. "They just don't want to grow."
• The result is that Bird's Haven is selling tomatoes at $3.25 per pound, compared with the $1.99 per pound that's more typical this time of year. The types of available produce might differ too. At Bird's Haven, the okra and eggplant are growing fine in the heat, but the family has given up on cucumbers.
• "They're coming up, but they're just not fruiting," Bird says. "There a lot of vines with nothing on them."
• As for the ears of corn sold at supermarkets, there shouldn't be a huge spike in prices. The sweet corn that people eat is typically irrigated like other fruits and vegetables. And although the drought is pressuring farmers, it's not to the same severity as the corn fields that produce animal feed.
• Overall, the USDA projects an overall 2 percent to 3 percent price increase for fruits and vegetables next year. That's in line with this year's increase.
• PACKAGED FOODS
• Another worry is that the price of many packaged foods that contain corn or corn ingredients will climb. High-fructose corn syrup, for example, is used in a wide variety of foods such as cookies, yogurt, cereals and spaghetti sauces. A can of regular soda contains 40 grams of the sweetener.
• The corn ingredients that are used in packaged foods mostly aren't irrigated either, meaning they're also vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and the price fluctuations.
• But keep in mind that such ingredients are often a tiny fraction of the costs that

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