Grocery shoppers are budgeting a little more for milk after the price jumped 25 cents Sunday in many stores in the Bronx and across the city.

Customers of a Morris Park supermarket say while they aren?t looking forward to paying close to $3 a gallon, they need milk to keep their children healthy.

The Department of Agriculture blames the hike on a decrease in production on milk farms and an increase in demand. The department maintains the increase is only a guide for local stores. In 2004, the price for a gallon of milk shot up to $4.18 in some places.