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Listen and fill in the blanks:
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: OK, so, A, I was about to say, this next story is . But that would be a dad joke. I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to tell you we have a story about .
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: But it is B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) I don't think you can say all the lyrics of that song. You're on the . But anyway, nice reference, nice singing - appreciate it. In any case, fresh could be one of the first casualties of the dockworkers strike, which is now on its third day.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: The port of Wilmington handles more than a quarter of all coming into the United States. It's a major hub for both Dole and Chiquita, two of the biggest banana suppliers.
Other fruit also passes through the port's giant refrigerated warehouses, including from Chile and from Morocco, but bananas are America's most popular fresh fruit. Tracy Levin's family's been trading bananas in the Mid-Atlantic region for well over a .
TRACY LEVIN: My great-grandfather in 1906 started ripening bananas on Dock Street in Philadelphia in the .
HORSLEY: In those early days, bananas arrived by the boat load, still attached to giant . Today, the fruit comes in cardboard boxes, stacked in refrigerated shipping containers from Central and South America.
Levin's company handles about of those cartons every week, supplying big-box stores and corner retailers as far west as Chicago.
LEVIN: The bananas are on the water for about days. They come through the ports here. We pick them up, we ripen them in our banana ripening rooms for a few days, and then they go out to their stores, and that's how they get to the consumers in the area.
HORSLEY: That normally smooth and largely invisible process is one of many that have been interrupted by the dockworker strike, which has halted shipments of everything from auto parts to . Levin is hoping for a quick resolution.
LEVIN: We have union workers here. We want a fair deal for everyone from the ports to the . Our country relies very heavily on our ports. So this is definitely going to have a ripple-down effect if it doesn't come to an end soon.
HORSLEY: Kyle Henderson, who heads the freight tracking company Vizion, says the fallout from the strike multiplies with each .
KYLE HENDERSON: If it goes on for weeks, it's going to be a massive headache. If it's just days, it's probably just a .
HORSLEY: And of all the goods now treading water in shipping containers, few are more sensitive to the passage of time than fresh fruit. Auto parts and wine generally don't spoil if they're stuck in transit for a little while, but Levin says for bananas, the clock is .
LEVIN: These bananas do have a shelf life, even when they're sitting in the refrigerated containers. If they sit for too long, they will out. It's really important that they get unloaded before they become trash.
HORSLEY: Levin's company has enough fruit on hand to last a week or so, but Levin says after that, look out.
LEVIN: Our banana supply will be dwindling if the ships aren't getting the fruit off. The consumer may see a banana at their local grocery stores very soon.
HORSLEY: For now, grocery shoppers might want to pick up a few extra bananas just in case. But of course, those won't stay fresh long either. Levin recommends keeping bananas at home as cool as possible, but not in the . And if the strike does drag on, there's always banana .
Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
Answer Key:
- 1. bananas
- 2. B-A-N-A-N-A-S
- 3. radio
- 4. bananas
- 5. bananas
- 6. grapes
- 7. clementines
- 8. century
- 9. cellar
- 10. stalks
- 11. 35,000
- 12. seven
- 13. wine
- 14. workers
- 15. goods
- 16. blip
- 17. ticking
- 18. dry
- 19. shortage
- 20. refrigerator
- 21. bread
Transcript:
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
OK, so, A, I was about to say, this next story is bananas. But that would be a dad joke. I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to tell you we have a story about bananas.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
But it is B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) I don't think you can say all the lyrics of that song. You're on the radio. But anyway, nice reference, nice singing - appreciate it. In any case, fresh bananas could be one of the first casualties of the dockworkers strike, which is now on its third day. The ports affected along the East and Gulf coasts include Wilmington, Del., which is the No. 1 gateway for bananas. Here's NPR Scott Horsley.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE:
The port of Wilmington handles more than a quarter of all bananas coming into the United States. It's a major hub for both Dole and Chiquita, two of the biggest banana suppliers. Other fruit also passes through the port's giant refrigerated warehouses, including grapes from Chile and clementines from Morocco, but bananas are America's most popular fresh fruit. Tracy Levin's family's been trading bananas in the Mid-Atlantic region for well over a century.
TRACY LEVIN:
My great-grandfather in 1906 started ripening bananas on Dock Street in Philadelphia in the cellar.
HORSLEY:
In those early days, bananas arrived by the boat load, still attached to giant stalks. Today, the fruit comes in cardboard boxes, stacked in refrigerated shipping containers from Central and South America. Levin's company handles about 35,000 of those cartons every week, supplying big-box stores and corner retailers as far west as Chicago.
LEVIN:
The bananas are on the water for about seven days. They come through the ports here. We pick them up, we ripen them in our banana ripening rooms for a few days, and then they go out to their stores, and that's how they get to the consumers in the area.
HORSLEY:
That normally smooth and largely invisible process is one of many that have been interrupted by the dockworker strike, which has halted shipments of everything from auto parts to wine. Levin is hoping for a quick resolution.
LEVIN:
We have union workers here. We want a fair deal for everyone from the ports to the workers. Our country relies very heavily on our ports. So this is definitely going to have a ripple-down effect if it doesn't come to an end soon.
HORSLEY:
Kyle Henderson, who heads the freight tracking company Vizion, says the fallout from the strike multiplies with each
KYLE HENDERSON:
If it goes on for weeks, it's going to be a massive headache. If it's just days, it's probably just a blip.
HORSLEY:
And of all the goods now treading water in shipping containers, few are more sensitive to the passage of time than fresh fruit. Auto parts and wine generally don't spoil if they're stuck in transit for a little while, but Levin says for bananas, the clock is ticking.
LEVIN:
These bananas do have a shelf life, even when they're sitting in the refrigerated containers. If they sit for too long, they will dry out. It's really important that they get unloaded before they become trash.
HORSLEY:
Levin's company has enough fruit on hand to last a week or so, but Levin says after that, look out.
LEVIN:
Our banana supply will be dwindling if the ships aren't getting the fruit off. The consumer may see a banana shortage at their local grocery stores very soon.
HORSLEY:
For now, grocery shoppers might want to pick up a few extra bananas just in case. But of course, those won't stay fresh long either. Levin recommends keeping bananas at home as cool as possible, but not in the refrigerator. And if the strike does drag on, there's always banana bread.
Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
