(SYRACUSE, N.Y.) NCC News – The most wonderful time of the year is finally getting back to normal, but now Americans are dealing with higher prices due to nationwide inflation.
Jennissa Hart, General Manager of Chuck Hafner’s Farmers Market and Garden Center, said they work all year long to nail the holiday season.
With a more traditional holiday season and a more traditional holiday shopping season rolling around, those doing the buying are constantly reminded of the economic buzzword of the year – inflation. This year, more than a third of christmas tree growers say their costs have grown this year. Chuck Hafner’s Farmers Market and Garden Center in North Syracuse takes a different approach.
Prices of Christmas trees are up almost sixteen percent this year, but what makes Chuck Hafner’s difference is they actually grow them on their own farm.
“It’s one of the ways that we’ve been able to remain so successful for 50 plus years. People come here because we’re consistently the best quality around,” Jennissa Hart said.
However, in terms of ornaments and decorations, Hafner’s is in the same boat as its competitors.
“We’re feeling the price increases across the board and it’s not just what you’re paying for the product. It’s utilities, it’s gas, it’s our labor,” Hart said.
However, when it comes to battling inflation, there’s a balance between absorbing some of that increase and passing it off to the consumer. Hafner’s hasn’t raised any prices by more than five dollars.
“They take value very very seriously…and no matter what’s going on in the world, he tries really hard to kind of just hold back to that five dollar increase,” Hart said.
