BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — You may not realize it, but a lot of the fresh produce you buy is imported from many different countries. Now, there are major concerns that there could be a ripple effect from the Trump administration's tariffs hitting the cost of groceries.
I spoke with neighbors in Buffalo about making ends meet during these uncertain times.
“It's hard to make ends meet, so getting more money into their grocery bills takes away from something else,” said Vinnie Guercio, manager of Guercio & Sons.
Guercio & Sons on Grant Street on the city's West Side is a shop that features many imported items, including many of the fruit and vegetables that are imported, already going up in price.
Guercio told me that the price of avocados has increased from .99 to $1.99 at his store.
"Right now, the avocados, because they come out of Mexico, those are spiking quite a bit, they've doubled in price within the last month," he said. "Out of Canada right now, like spinach, baby spinach, some mescaline, some baby arugula – that's spiking too.”
Guercio said he's expecting more increases in the coming weeks but will do his best to keep prices as low as possible.
“I would say, just buckle up and then just get ready for the ride," he said. "It's going to be an up and down situation.”
I then traveled to the city's East Side and met with Buffalo Fathers President Lenny Lane as he delivered food to a family in need.
Lane told me that food items might be difficult for him to get in the future.
“Everybody is struggling right now," he said. "They're going to even struggle more. Even getting it from our distributions and the places we normally get our resources from – they’re saying you know they may not be able to get even some of the meats.”
Lane then distributed food items out of a mobile response truck pulled up on along Dartmouth Avenue in the Kensington-Bailey neighborhood.
"I just want to say thank you,” said Brian Lewis. “It’s been a lot trying to have some food."
Lewis and Lancya Osborne are struggling and rely on Lane's assistance to supplement what they buy at the grocery store and are very worried about tariffs causing prices to rise.
“We're constantly looking at the papers, we're constantly looking for the best deal that we can find,” Osborne said. “It's an unfortunate circumstance.”
“What is your message from Buffalo, New York, to the President right now on these Trump tariffs?” I asked.
“Something needs to change immediately, cause other than that, we're looking at a downhill straight from here – that’s it,” Osborne said.
“I try to come by here as often as I can because I know that she's in a hard place and her dad also is struggling right now,” Lane said.
Lane is urging everyone in the community to come together and share resources – neighbor to neighbor – to get through yet another challenging time in the Queen City.
