"At Thornes Marketplace in Northampton, Massachusetts, I learned that Firetype Chocolate had to end its long-running birthday program (giving away over 1,200 free confections annually) because chocolate costs have soared — driven by climate impacts, crop disease, and market pressures — and the shop has shifted ingredient practices (e.g., moving from corn syrup to organic tapioca and using Valrhona chocolate) even as rising cocoa prices forced small per-piece price increases." - Jaya Saxena