Jelly Sandwiches...Where's the Peanut Butter?

Have any of you realized how much you are paying for peanut butter these days? A ridiculous amount! I bought a container of cheap JIF the other day costing me about eight dollars! Why? What is causing this outrageous spike?
We have recently had the worst peanut harvest in decades! "Analysts attribute this drop to the intense heat and drought that hit the southern U.S. this year, as well as to high prices for other crops that led farmers to focus their efforts elsewhere," says CNNMoney.com

Americans spend about $800 million on peanut butter and consume an average of six pounds of peanut products each year, according to The National Peanut Board, a farmer-funded research group.

Can anyone say--global warming? Can anyone say--food insecurity?

But the question that comes to my mind is: If I am struggling to pay for this household staple as a middle class American, what about other people? What about families and communities who barely make it from paycheck to paycheck that can only send their kids with cheap PB&J sandwiches for lunch? What about about those who live in low income housing? 

-MAU