COVID-19 and Shortages

[Ambergris]

I haven't been able to find Lysol or isopropyl alcohol either for months now, but bleach is finally easier.  

[TheCG]

They’re still a bit short on paper towels and TP at ours.  Starting to get more antibacterial soap in.  I need to stock up on tissues and baby wipes.  Most other things seem to be ok now.

[Littlesister]

We are seeing more shortages on canned goods.  Seems anything in a can is because of the short supply of aluminium to make the cans with. Makes me wonder about a shortage of aluminium foil.  Haven't noticed that as I have plenty of it. Will have to check that one out. 

I am in process of making a BJ"s list today to try to go to both BJ"s and Sam's club tomorrow. Hoping to be able to get everything on my list. But not counting on it. Now that I have the 2 shelving units, I plan on stocking rather heavy. That is so I won't have to make a trip for a few months. Will see how that goes.

[Littlesister]

Didn't make it to Sam's or BJ's today. Ended up with other things to do first and DH is not moving around as well today. So decided to hold off on that trip as I would be gone way to long to leave him alone for that length of time. I really need a babysitter.  Wow!! never thought I would hear myself saying that one. But I can't trust his not falling. He is a fall risk.  I need to find out my grandson's work schedule.  I know he would come over if not working. I just have to make sure to leave the good food for him. Pizza, junk food.  

I did look at Food Lion on the foil and it wasn't that bad. A bit less than normal but had plenty. 

[Jeepers]

Thanks for the update Joyfilled.

 

Mt. Rider, your shelves sound just like ours. Except for the Ivory. I use Dawn so haven't noticed.

 

Soup is still low here too and I want the one sheet Bounty too. Hope they don't stop making it because all I can find is the select-a-sheet type. I keep forgetting to look for alcohol. The soft drink and beer aisles are very low because of the aluminum shortage. You can find both in glass and plastic bottles though. Except Vanilla Coke. Kinda getting concerned about that one.  LOL.

 

I was at Sam's a week or so back and the only toilet paper they had was something called Pom. and not a lot of that.

[Ambergris]

Just got back from the grocery store.  We split up to make a shorter trip, which turned out to have perhaps been a bad idea, but that's not the story here.  The housemate questioned some stockers, one of whom said that fully half the supply trucks expected in August had not arrived.  At the most recent store meeting, they had been told that if anyone complained, blame the storm.  (Bear in mind that we are a couple hundred miles stormward of the closest warehouse.)  The stocker said that previously, they had been told to say trucks had not arrived because people were calling in sick.  The other stockers told her that trucks had not come because people were calling in sick or due to a combo of people calling in sick and people worried about the storm.

 

Isopropyl alcohol was not available.  Bar soap was available.  Laundry supply availability was brand-specific--you better not be looking for soap flakes, Lysol, or Pine Sol. Unscented bleach was only available in the little jugs.  

 

The produce area was heavy on root crops like Irish potato, and onion, with some ñame, malacca, etc. and a skimpy supply of raggedly looking sweet potatoes (I would guess probably 24 or so individual sweet potatoes).  The first big harvest for sweet potatoes planted locally is mid to late July, and they should be in the market two-three weeks later.  I sure hope they got delayed a couple of weeks and just haven't gone through the curing process for the new harvest yet.  If you don't need a second crop, planting dates are extremely flexible, because they grow faster when the dirt is hotter and rains normally start in June.  However, the insect pressure increases as summer wears on.  Also, they're usually dug as soon as the first hurricane threatens because they have to cure in a hot, dry place to taste good and (more important to the marketing chain) store well.  While the store seemed to have plenty of good-looking Irish potatoes, I think some of that display space is usually used for other things.  They also had plenty of salad stuff and fruit like pineapple, as well as a little containers of out of season berries and cherries, but I wasn't paying close attention in that area because we don't get most of that at the chain grocery store.

 

Everyone in the store kept distance, paid attention to the one-way aisles, and wore masks.  I started hyperventilating at one point.  They cleared the aisle for me--most embarrassing--and I breathed through my shirt instead of the mask until I could get myself together.  Then I went straight to the checkout and left the cart by there.  DS1 picked it up and took over my part along with his part.  The housemate was about done at that point anyway, so she and I went to the car to wait sitting down while he finished up.  It's been a long morning.

[kappydell]

Our toilet paper and paper towels at Wal-mart are hit and miss - maybe you get some, maybe not.  No limits yet.  The wipes are all gone.  I can still find Palmolive anti-bacterial soap if I look, and try to grab some for hand washing masks.  Povidone iodine is in short supply especially since it was on the news as a disinfectant.  Odd things we did ot expect to be in short supply:  pet food, both canned and dry.  Vitamin C. Chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, taco seasoning packets.  Frozen vegetables in the 12 oz size are gone, so are the cheap pizzas if you dont get them early in the week.  Very grateful for my freezer so I can just get the less scarce larger size packages.  Canned ravioli is gone all the time.  Ditto canned chili and beef stew.  All purpose flour is starting to dwindle again, just house brand on the shelves.  Forget bread flour, rye flour or the speciality flours (so glad I have gluten flour put away).  The soup aisle is a shanbles, as are the shelf stable side dishes (potatoes, mac & cheese, rice sides).  I am SOOOO glad I can cook from scratch, as the rock bottom basics are still around - if you buy big sizes.   

[Annarchy]

I am planning a shopping trip on Mon or Tues.  I’ll let you know. So far our WM has restocked most everything.

[Littlesister]

After going through and getting everything I have canned over the past 3 years on the shelving units. I think the only thing I need from a store now would be eggs, milk and for DH, ice cream. yeah, he has been on an ice cream jag. Was just about all he would eat in the hospital. The food was really bad. He just hasn't stopped eating it yet. I have about 25 buckets of food that was behind the bookcases. I found in one  was a 50lb. bag of rice I had put in mylar bags and oxygen absorbers. It is still good. So that will be the next one I use. I had packed that bucket in 2014. I thought I had used all of that rice. In those buckets are my freeze dried and dehydrated foods. I also have some flour that is in mylar and O2 absorbers as well. I always freeze the flour for a few days and then pull it out and let sit on dinning room table for several days before I pack it in the mylar bags. I am going to store my sugar like my grandmother did when I was young. She used the medal trashcans and lined them with a trash bag and put the sugar in there. She didn't open the sugar, just placed the bags in the can unopened. Though I can't remember how many pounds a can would hold. But I hope it will hold at least 25 to 30 pounds as that I think is what I have now.  All the store bought canned food will stay where it is at. Such as corn and peas, etc. that I have no room to grown in back yard. 

 

So you all will know.  The Pom toilet paper is a good one. I have 4 cases of it and we liked it. So if you are wondering about it, it is good quality. 

 

[Jeepers]

Thanks for the Pom TP review. I'd never heard of it before. Good to know.

 

I keep forgetting to look for, iodine, alcohol, witch hazel and peroxide. I'm going to make a list of those things and keep it in my car so maybe I'll see it. Out of sight, out of mind. Our Wal-Mart's still have plenty of adult/children's masks and gloves and hand sanitizer. Name brand TP is hit or miss. They always have some but maybe not your brand. 

 

A couple of weeks ago Sam's had the big gallon size bottles of Lysol cleaner. The kind where you could use it straight from the bottle or dilute it. Each case held two of the gallon bottles. They had plenty of that and plenty of bleach. 

 

Cleaning wipes are an issue everywhere I've looked. 

 

I finally found some Zinc at Wal-Mart in indiana. First time since Covid hit. Small bottles with no limit. So at least that is coming back. 

 

Sorry you had a rough time at the grocery store Ambergris. Glad you wasn't alone though. 

 

 

[Ambergris]

Well, I just got my third consecutive refund for a cancelled order of canning jars.  This one, the seller had told me was lost in shipping, but told Amazon was cancelled.  Either way, I got the refund.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Ambergris

[Jeepers]

Glad you got a refund but would probably rather had the jars, huh. 

[Ambergris]

Much

[Midnightmom]

I wonder if the metal "shortage" for commercially canned veggies will spill over into other areas........such as not being available to manufacture canning jar LIDS???

    

[euphrasyne]

Shopping trip last week was small because we didn't need much and mostly we were getting pet items and kid requests for days when I am too pregnant to move so DIY comfort food for the teens.

 

Kroger: ordered online, DH picked up then went inside for a few extra things.   

Out: canned tamales, hotdog chili without beans, canned ravioli 

Substituted: The treats my cat actually likes for one she doesn't like as much but DH found the one she liked on the isle.  Apparently they only checked the endcap or something.  

They were limiting the amount of cat litter and soda (kroger brand cola 0) I could order for pickup online, but DH was able to buy as much as he wanted instore thank goodness--he has a caffeine addiction.  

 

Aldi: I went with my youngest later in the week

Limits of 4 canned or boxed items of each type, limit of 2 containers on dairy items.

Out: Tamales, ravioli, enchilada sauce, the smoked sausage I like, the bacon I like, the produce was very picked over and empty.   

 

I am unable to find the old fashioned cotton type of baby blankets with the seam around the edge anywhere.  It is all lightweight fleece and muslin which I hate.  I'm not sure if this is a 'modern style' change or a covid shortage.  

 

[Jeepers]

I made a quick trip to the store yesterday evening. It looked about the same as the last time I was there. 

 

Our fruit/veggie section has always looked pretty good. Not always filled to the brim like before but still enough of everything. There was TP and single sheet paper towels but not fully stocked. A lot of empty spaces. Still no spray foam bathroom cleaner but I found some of that last month at Wal-Mart and stocked up. I've noticed a lot of 'off brand' cleaning and disinfecting items. A lot of different names, not a lot of products.

 

Canned veggie aisle had some holes. Still no single serving cans of Bushes baked beans. Wal-Mart has had some so I'm pretty well stocked up. Duke had better get on the ball and start rolling some more of that beautiful bean footage. 

 

The freezer case was pretty full except a lot of missing vegetables. Still no seasoned brussel sprouts that I like.

 

No large slices of pepperoni and no sour Jell-O or cans of vanilla coke.

 

They haven't had sour Jell-O, which isn't really sour but a little tart, for over two months.

 

The small cans of beans, bathroom cleaner, pepperoni and my brand of brussel sprouts have been missing for 4-5 months,  Along with alcohol, peroxide and providone (sp). The band-aid section was looking sort of sparse too.

 

I had one of those small buggies so I  didn't get much but was very surprised at the bill. The prices have really sky rocketed around here. 

 

 

[Ambergris]

Prices on the canned vegetable aisle are up at least 30% from this time last year.  Some things are up to almost double.  There are gaps in the line, although some things that used to rate a four-can-wide space have a five-can-wide space now.  Things that used to be packed all the way back on the shelf are packed maybe three cans deep, maybe four cans deep.  I don't see any one-person servings of vegetables.  I don't see much chili.  I don't see any chopped baby corn, and there were exactly two cans of whole baby corn. 

There's plenty of Goya everything, though.  Goya Jamaican Ginger Beer, which I haven't been able to find for years,  is on the shelf now.  I like Goya beans because they don't have sugar in them, but to suddenly see Goya products surge through the shelves when everything else is retreating and getting scarce is more than a little off-putting.  Also, the Goya prices are down.  Why are Goya prices down when everything else is up?  Are they trying to grab a market share?  How are they doing this?

Edited September 13, 2020 by Ambergris

[Dee]

Lunch meat was almost non-existent.  I like having 3 or 4 Marie Calendar chicken pot pies in the freezer for lazy nights.  NONE in the freezer and only 3 beef pot pies.  Decided to get TV dinners instead.  Two Salisbury steak, 2 meatloaf was all.  Maybe 6 of macaroni and cheese but that was it.  Very little bread on the shelves.  No storms or anything unusual in the forecast so that wasn't the reason for it.  No chocolate milk.  Lots of open spaces for store brand and Campbell's soups.  Chips were sparse too.   Maybe more that I've forgotten but it was the first time I've seen so many empty shelves.

[Daylily]

Wednesday, DD and I had eye glasses appointments and Mom had a doctor appt. We ran into Food City to use the bathroom and one whole aisle had absolutely nothing on the shelves. I figured they were just reorganizing. When we came back through several hours later, they had put some square boxes of something on one section of a shelf. this aisle was first aid, shampoo, etc.

 

DH and I usually go grocery shopping once a month when the co-op order comes in but we haven't been for over two months. We need to go and get some things.

[Jeepers]

Dee just reminded me that the soup shelves were pretty empty too. Especially Campbell's. Also the canned pasta (Chef Boyardee type) shelves were missing a whole lot of cans. They have been that way since around April. I wasn't buying any canned meats but i did glance over at them and the shelves were very bare. 

 

As Ambergris noted the canned veggies, that used to fill the shelves full, were spread out and only 4-6 deep. I didn't buy any so I didn't notice about the single serving sizes but it follows along the lines of the missing single serving size of baked beans. Maybe some people are cutting back on their portion sizes and buying smaller cans?   

 

Just thinking about something. I'll bet if you took all of the canned goods in my store including the baking and dry foods, and stacked them neatly on the store shelves, I'll bet the products would only fill half of my store. Granted my store isn't huge but still...I think all of the paper goods and cleaning supplies and detergents would maybe fill one side of an aisle.

 

Three years ago my store was open 24 hours. Then closing at 1:00am, then midnight, then 11:00pm and just a week or so ago 10:00pm. And Wal-Mart closes at 8:30pm. Those were hours stores used to keep back in the late 50's early 60's when I was a kid. Wonder when they will start closing on Sundays. 

 

The only thing I noted in plenty supply was plastic trash bags and Glad bags.

[Midnightmom]

22 hours ago, Ambergris said:

I like Goya beans because they don't have sugar in them, but to suddenly see Goya products surge through the shelves when everything else is retreating and getting scarce is more than a little off-putting.  Also, the Goya prices are down.  Why are Goya prices down when everything else is up?  Are they trying to grab a market share?  How are they doing this?

 

Goya has come to the forefront because the CEO had endorsed Trump and they were being boycotted. However, conservatives have elected to show their support for the company and they are now looking for that brand. The company may have increased production to match the new demand. 

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/07/10/goya-ceo-donald-trump-moos-dnt-ebof-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/wacky-world-of-jeanne-moos/

 

[Dee]

DH went for tractor parts today so I rode along.  Went to the same chain store as the other day but in a different town.  Mrs. Grimes chili beans were on sale for $1.99 a can.  I picked up 4 cans and one had a green tag saying $.75 off.  It wasn't dented and the date on the bottom was 2023.  I asked the lady at the check-out why it was $.75 off, I couldn't find a thing different about it.  She said they have too many in stock in the back so they put them on sale and then mark a few cans an extra $.75 off.  Have you ever heard of such a thing?  I wished then I'd have dug deeper into the stack of cans to find more.  

[Ambergris]

Oh, wouldn't you like to have had a dozen!

[Jeepers]

Too much canned food in this day and age? So they deep discount it to get rid of it? 

 

That's crazy talk!

[Joyfilled]

I find that I'm getting used to the emptiness of the shelves. Some things are getting better, others are still missing. Cold cuts seem to always be in short supply.

Also, other things missing, too. Like toys. We budget throughout the year, so we are starting to buy Christmas gifts now, just to be sure we have them available. 

Hubby and I have heard a LOT of internet chatter that things are going to get way worse. We keep our eyes on Jesus and trust Him, no matter what. ❤️