A bit of fall arrived in Richmond Monday morning when Governor Abigail Spanberger received pumpkins from a Virginia farmer. But Halloween festivities are once again expected to see an increase in price this year.
“As far as the prices we’re receiving, they’re lower than they’ve currently been in the past," said Aaron Crowgey with Richdale Farm, a fifth-generation farmer, just before delivering a truck load of pumpkins and gourds at the governor’s mansion.
"Because the brokers are having to pay for the fuel to get them to the store…," Crowgey said.
"So, you’re getting less for your pumpkins?" I asked. "Yes,” Crowgey replied.
Richdale Farm, like many others across the Commonwealth, is feeling the pinch as gas and inflation continue to impact prices.
And while farmers like Crowgey are making less from pumpkins, candy prices are going up. According to Finance Buzz, a 100-count bag of candy to hand out this Halloween has gone up over 70% since 2021.
As for Spanberger? She says she’s working to reduce costs across the Commonwealth: “It’s a challenging time for so many families.”
And perhaps most importantly?
“Your favorite Halloween candy?" I ask the governor.
"Reese's pieces," she says before admitting she also really loves mini-Reese's cups: "It’s the perfect chocolate to peanut butter ratio.”
Notably, Reese's Pieces are manufactured in Augusta County where Hershey Chocolate of Virginia has been producing Spanberger’s favorites since 1980.
But chocolate, a core part of Reese's, is more expensive as well.
Hershey announced a double-digit increase earlier this year. The company said it wasn’t about tariffs but instead linked to the increasing cost of cocoa, which international producers blame on drought and other climate related issues.
Elizabeth Vranas owns For the Love of Chocolate in Richmond’s Carytown. She bought the company just after the COVID-19 pandemic began, so she's ridden the roller coaster of cocoa prices ever since. And even if it's up this year, she’s not expecting it to hurt sales.
“People are still buying plenty of chocolate," she said Monday morning. "We’re definitely going through a lot of chocolate.”
That matches economic predictions for candy sales this year; the National Retail Federation estimates Americans will spend about $13.5 billion on Halloween this year.
