NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters surged nearly 25% Thursday after a stellar earnings report.

After the closing bell Wednesday, Green Mountain (GMCR) reported $96 million in net income for the quarter ended in December, a 264% increase over the same quarter in the previous year that crushed analyst estimates.

After closing at $53.63 Wednesday, shares of Green Mountain, which makes the popular K-Cup, opened the trading day Thursday at $65.05 and closed at $66.42, up 23.8%.

“The value of single-serve, at-home brewing seems to be resonating with consumers,” Green Mountain CEO Lawrence Blanford said in a statement announcing the earnings.

It’s getting a little crowded in the breakfast nook.

Fast food chain Taco Bell announced Thursday that it’s entering the breakfast fray. It joins larger rivals such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Subway in a market saturated with breakfast options including specialty coffees to lure in addicts who’ll buy a breakfast sandwich along with that daily cup of joe.

Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell, which is known for its low price points and late night hours, is introducing a breakfast menu at nearly 800 restaurants across 10 Western states, including California and Arizona.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Shares of McDonald’s are trading at a new all-time high after the global fast food chain managed to impress with strong earnings and sales numbers across all its markets.

Fast food chains tend to benefit during recessionary economic periods as many people scale back and trade down. Recent menu expansion and innovation is also a big factor, fueling McDonald’s (MCD, Fortune 500) growth.

Chipotle (CMG) is also a fast food chain in its heart, but the industry is not the only tailwind going for them. The introduction of naturally raised and hormone free meat in its products appeal to a wide range of customers and help the company to ride on its own secular trend.

TOLEDO, Ohio — A restaurant whose hot dogs were made famous by cross-dressing Cpl. Max Klinger on the TV series “M*A*S*H” has new owners, but it will stay within the family after a judge settled a feud on Thursday over the ownership of Tony Packo’s.

A private restaurant group backed by Tony Packo Jr. and his son won the bidding for the restaurant chain whose hot dog sauce and pickles are sold in stores across the nation.

The decision ends a yearlong battle over Tony Packo’s, a corner bar and grill that grew out of the Great Depression. The restaurant’s chili-topped hot dogs continue to please fans even after the iconic TV show ended its run three decades ago.

At some point last year, about 17 million U.S. households had some difficulty feeding everyone in their family.

That amounts to 14.5 percent of U.S. households, according to a report released last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The percentage of households who experienced food insecurity in 2010 was virtually unchanged from 2009. But it has risen by about 3 percentage points since 2007, the year the country officially went into recession.

Full Story at Life Inc. – Good Graph Friday: Who’s going hungry

Good Graph Friday: Who’s going hungry

The news Friday that American corn supplies are larger than many had expected sent corn futures prices down, which some might take to mean that at some point people get a better deal on everything from corn chips to soda.

After all, that’s the basic law of supply and demand.

But these days, some say those types of assumptions are no longer applying to food.

Reuters reported Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture pegged U.S. corn stocks as of Sept. 1 at 1.128 billion bushels, above estimates of 964 million bushels. Although supplies are larger than expected, the corn supply is still at its lowest level since 2003.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The United States is stepping in to help bail out another American industry — chicken farmers and meat processors.

The nation’s chicken industry is having a difficult year. Chicken producers are struggling with higher costs of running their business at the same time that consumers are buying less meat.

This has created a glut of chicken products in the market.

Total chicken production in the first half of 2011 rose 4% compared to the same period a year ago, while demand for chicken has cooled, according to the National Chicken Council.

Consequently, retail prices for chicken product have dipped.

SEATTLE — Craving a gourmet meal on the fly? Food trucks plying American streets are delivering increasingly varied and sophisticated fare to the urban palate. Mobile kitchens offer hamburgers made from grass-fed cows, artisan breads, ethnic blends like Korean tacos and gourmet dishes that stand up next to fine fare from the brick-and-mortar sector.

The explosion contributes color and variety to cities, arguably invigorating urban spaces in a tough economy. But the popular trucks also present new problems — traffic and sanitation issues and resistance from traditional restaurants. So, while some cities are loosening restrictions on food trucks, others are revising and updating legislation to control the growth.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc has begun testing an online grocery delivery service in San Jose, California, a company spokesman said on Saturday.

The world’s biggest retailer had been rumored to be considering dipping its toe into online grocery delivery for the past few years.

The “Walmart To Go” test allows customers to visit Walmart.com to order groceries and consumables found in a Walmart store and have them delivered to their homes, the spokesman said.

WASHINGTON — Americans are noticing higher prices at the grocery store, and it’s about to get worse.

Food prices at the wholesale level rose last month by the most in 36 years. Cold weather accounted for most of it, forcing stores and restaurants to pay more for green peppers, lettuce and other vegetables, but meat and dairy prices surged, too.

The big questions are how long food prices will keep rising and how high they’ll go.

The impact is already visible. Wendy’s, paying higher prices for tomatoes, now puts them on hamburgers only by request. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts have raised prices because they pay more for coffee beans. Supermarkets warn customers that produce may be of lower quality, or limited.

Coca-Cola has won praise for an initiative that significantly cut water usage at its more than 900 plants around the world. But there’s another major sustainability project at Coke. Instead of focusing on Coke’s bottling plants, this one aims to make Coke bottles out of plants.

PHILADELPHIA – The Campbell Soup Co. sold more cans of soup in its fiscal second quarter, but at such deep discounts it drove down the company’s profit.

The quarterly decline was expected, but it came with some other bad news from the food maker. The outlook for the rest of the year is cloudy enough that Campbell lowered its full-year earnings and revenue guidance for the second time in about three months.

The Camden, N.J., company said Friday that its income fell 8 percent and sales were down 1 percent.