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Photos by Doug Jones/Staff PhotographerRoger Gifford finds comfort in one thing as the price of milk continues to climb, and forces him to raise the price of his ice cream.
"We are all in the same boat," said Gifford, co-owner of the Skowhegan-based company that sells Gifford's Ice Cream at stores in Maine and at 600 to 700 independent stands throughout New England. "We are all trying to figure out what to do."
In Maine, the boat includes pizza shop owners, coffee shop owners and – with a price increase nationwide on Tuesday – anybody who buys a drink at Starbucks. The chain raised prices for its coffee and freshly made drinks 9 cents because of the rising costs of milk, energy and fuel.
Milk prices have increased significantly over the past year, with the minimum price for a gallon of whole milk in August hitting $3.65, up from $2.74 a year ago, according to the Maine Milk Commission. And it seems to be going up every month: $3.59 in July from $3.36 in June.
The cost of transporting milk is increasing, as gasoline prices climb. And the cost of feeding cows has gone up because so much corn for feed is being diverted to ethanol production.
People who buy a cone of Gifford's Ice Cream are paying about 10 cents more this season. The price for economy portions, sold to institutions such as schools, has gone up from $9 to $10.20 for a 3-gallon container.
The company has seen the price of the dry milk powder it uses in some products triple, Gifford said. And the only way to stay profitable is a price increase.
Gifford has a lot of company.
Edmund Govoni, owner of Breaking New Grounds on Exchange Street, said the coffee shop changed prices early in the spring as everything else went up because of gas prices.
"It's just a continuing domino effect that's impacting everything," Govoni said. "It's not just milk, although milk is a huge part of our product."
Even with rising costs, Govoni can't raise prices in a vacuum because the competition is so intense.
He's charging $1.17 for a small coffee, the same price as at Java Net Cafe, also on Exchange Street.
Jonathan Gates, owner of Java Net Cafe, said his store uses 60 gallons of milk a week.
The shop hasn't changed prices in five years, but might have to do it.
As milk prices have gone up, so has the price of cheese. And that's a problem for pizza makers like Albert Brown, manager of Portland House of Pizza on Washington Avenue.
The restaurant buys about 1,500 pounds of mozzarella and cheddar cheese a week, he said. About a year and a half ago, that cheese cost $1.40 to $1.50 a pound; today the prices are $2.45 for cheddar and $2.39 for mozzarella.
A small pie at Portland House of Pizza costs $6.85 and a large costs $9.85, about a 50-cent increase for each from last year. Brown said the increase was part of a general revision of the restaurant menu but he knows of other pizza restaurants that have increased prices specifically because of the higher cost of cheese.
All of this hasn't gone unnoticed by the people who buy anything made with milk.
Shoppers at the Hannaford supermarket on Forest Avenue said they have noticed the increase in milk prices but have not changed their buying habits because those food items are such staples.
Lindsey St. Cyr of Portland said milk is not like chips or soda because people need it. The price will not stop her from buying milk because she buys the cheapest she can find, she said.
Byron Morris of Limington said the hike will affect families with children, noting that he used about three gallons a week when his kids were at home.
Morris, whose father was a dairy farmer in the 1950s, understands that farmers need to be compensated for their work.
"A lot of dairy farmers are going out of business," he said.
Staff Writer Willa Plank can be contacted at 791-6326 or at:
wplank@pressherald.com
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