Whatever the reason, tomatoes are absent from salad bars in the dining halls—whether conspicuously or not.

“I honestly didn’t even notice that there weren’t any tomatoes,” said Theresa S. Chan ’06. She said that she does not normally include tomatoes in her salads and is indifferent to the shortage.

But others who normally eat tomatoes in the dining halls, like Alexandra M. Ohanian ‘05, say they understand HUDS’ decision not to serve the fruit when the harvest is poor.

“During their bad time, maybe it’s better for us not to see them,” she said.

Mahan suggested that funding ordinarily spent on tomatoes should be used to fund other food options.

“If they’re not buying any tomatoes, they must be saving some money,” Mahan noted. Otherwise, he said, tomatoes could be served on a more occasional basis, such as once every three days.

But, for tomato eaters like Ohanian, good news lies on the horizon.

Breslin said he’s gotten word from Florida—normally HUDS’ source of tomatoes at this point in the year—that quality will increase and prices will drop over the next two to three weeks.

“As soon as the quality improves,” he said, “we will have tomatoes back.”