COVID-19 and Shortages

[TheCG]

20 hours ago, Joyfilled said:

Tin foil? For hats, or....😂 Just kidding. 

Ahem.  Never use aluminum foil for your hat.  They have done a study on it, and it actually amplifies the waves suspected of being the range for mind control.  Only use actual TIN foil.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by TheCG

[TheCG]

I was going to order more Macadamia nuts.  I like the little Moana Loa 0.5 ounce packets.

 

When I ordered them in March, it was $27 for a 24 pack.  A bit pricy, but for one of my go-to snacks that's shelf-stable and can live in my purse for weeks - sure.

 

They're $43 today.  I think...I need to find a new shelf-stable snack that can live in my purse.

[Ambergris]

The girls came by and helped clean my back porch.  Worked very hard.  Announced they were now going to go home and clean out Mom's and Grandma's pantry and cupboards.

 

I pulled out a random can from my pantry (refried beans).  "How would you decide whether to keep or toss this?"  We had a long and, I hope, very profitable discussion.  Turns out one of her favorite teachers had already given the "expiration dates sometimes are just a marketing tool" speech, but she didn't know how to apply the information. Their mother was sitting right there.  I kept looking at her, but she didn't say a word.  

 

This is not exactly the time to throw out good food, even if it's getting old enough to be a little blander or more liquid than expected, but any time is a good time to sort through the cans for something that NEEDS to get tossed.  And to do inventory.  They're revved up to compare prices on the oldest vs the newest cans, too.

Edited September 21, 2020 by Ambergris

[Ambergris]

From the local TV station:  

Frustrated with empty shelves in the supermarket? More supply problems could be on the way

Why are some food products still so hard to find?

Frustrated with empty shelves in the supermarket?  More supply problems could be on the way.
By: WKBW StaffPosted at 5:38 PM, Sep 18, 2020 and last updated 5:38 PM, Sep 18, 2020
When COVID-19 became a public health emergency this past spring, it caused widespread problems for supply chains that moved food from manufacturers to your local grocery store.

Six months after the pandemic started, consumers are still finding several popular food items hard to find.

The company that produces "Peeps" (Just Born in Pennsylvania) recently announced that it will not have Halloween or Christmas versions of the popular marshmallow treat this year. The company shut down temporarily for the pandemic and that will also affect the holiday offering of its "Hot Tamales" and "Ike and Mike" fruit candies.

"I don't think the consumer will know when they walk into a supermarket what is short and what is not short because so many things are disrupted," said John Phillip Tarantino Jr., president of Tarantino Foods, LLC in Buffalo.

Tarantino Foods is a wholesale food distributor with 2,000 customers that includes colleges, casinos, restaurants, and pizzerias.

The company president told 7 Eyewitness News Reporter Ed Reilly that his business is having a hard time finding many items such as french fries, California dates, certain types of cheese, frozen bread, bread crumbs, ketchup, Kraft ranch dressing, macaroni and cheese, McCormick spices, and packets of hot sauce - to name a few.

It is a difficult situation for food service suppliers as retail demand in grocery stores exploded during the crisis and forced manufacturers to redirect their efforts. Some less-profitable items are not being produced. Pasta and flavored drinks have seen those reductions.

Tarantino said consumers were looking to buy anything they could stockpile, such as Campbell soups and frozen vegetables.

Shut down of food plants with workers afraid of the virus started the problem which increased to a "tsunami" with surging demand by shoppers.

That situation was made even more complicated by a severe shortage of product packaging materials. Tarantino said he believes that to be one of the reasons why some food products are having a hard time getting to the shelves currently.

The family-owned business is recommending people take advantage of the WNY harvest season to stock-up on corn, tomatoes, and squash. Not only is it plentiful and cheap, but there could be produce problems coming soon as workers are not able to pick citrus and row crops, like lettuce and broccoli, on the West Coast due to the wildfires, added Tarantino.

Some viewers asked why canned pumpkin is so hard to find?

7 Eyewitness News contacted Libby's and received the following response:

"The team in Illinois is currently working hard harvesting Libby’s pumpkins and canning for the upcoming season. We typically begin shipping to retailers around this time for bake season, so you can expect to see pumpkin back on shelves over the next few weeks."

Wegmans also sent a statement regarding the shortage of some items:

"There are certain products that are still in high demand, for example, cleaning supplies and paper products. While we continue to get shipments of these products to our stores, we are on allocation from the manufacturers. We have purchase limits on these high-demand products to best serve the needs of as many customers as possible."

The National Grocers Association sent the following shopping tip:

"Consumers should plan ahead of their trip to the store, make a list and purchase what they need for the time, as well as check on the store’s website or social media pages ahead of their trip as stores will communicate important information on product availability and additional tips."

 

 

 

Y'all are shocked, aren't you?

[Annarchy]

Ammo is non-existent.  We’ve had our order in for two months.  Nada. Everyone calling is saying the same thing.

[Jeepers]

Amber, I must have missed a post or two. But who are the girls? Roomie's children? Your boy's girlfriends, beau's girls, neighbors, or nieces? I'm really behind. 

 

No Peeps?!    Thankfully I bought 12 boxes of the sour Ike and Mike candies last week. They will last me the rest of the year. I'll get more if I see them though. I only like the sour ones. Maybe get some boxes of Sweet Tarts. Honestly, I don't eat much candy but just the thought of not being able to get it any more makes me want to stock up. Sometimes sour candy eases my stomach. <---    Justifying the purchase there.

 

I agree that we never know where the shortages will show up next. I did notice that the Kraft salad dressing aisle has been extremely low since the Covid shortage hit. In fact, the last couple of times I bought salad dressing I bought Olive Garden brand because Kraft Italian and French were sold out. I like it better but it is, or was, a lot more expensive than Kraft. That's another issue; so many companies make multiple products under a different name brand that if the factory closes, then a lot of different products go missing. Kind of a snowball effect, huh.

 

Same with veggies. You all have heard me moan and groan about my brand of frozen seasoned brussel sprouts. MIA for months. And cans of Vanilla Coke gone for a couple of months now due to aluminium shortages. When stores get rationed then, naturally, we get rationed too. Although, I didn't see a lot of rationing because it's hard to put a ration number on an empty shelf.  

 

The mere mention of an item being hard to find sends people in a mad dash to get what they can for fear of not being able to get it again for months. And basically they are right. I.E. masks, hand sanitizer, alcohol etc. and the threat of no toilet paper. I guess it's human nature. And I'll admit that although I'm a 'prepper', I did go out and stocked up on items I figured would be hard to find. Not a mad dash mind you, but definitely on my to-do list. I didn't wipe the shelves clean but I did buy canning jars and lids a few at a time before they were on the radar because I anticipated the shortage. I wonder if I'm a savvy shopper or part of the problem. 

 

I just looked up who owns Jell-O brand. Yes I've moaned and groaned about not being able to get my tart Jell-O for the last couple of months too. Owned by Kraft-Heinz. Kraft again. Time to look into cheese singles.  

 

Not shocked nor surprised. 

 

 

 

[Midnightmom]

18 hours ago, Ambergris said:

Shut down of food plants with workers afraid of the virus started the problem which increased to a "tsunami" with surging demand by shoppers.

.

.

That situation was made even more complicated by a severe shortage of product packaging materials. 

 

 

IMO it would NOT be a continuing crisis if actions of some states' governors would stop playing politics with this disease because of "orange man bad" political leanings.  

Edited September 22, 2020 by Midnightmom

[Ambergris]

18 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Amber, I must have missed a post or two. But who are the girls? Roomie's children? Your boy's girlfriends, beau's girls, neighbors, or nieces? I'm really behind. 

 

 

 

 

The girls are the daughters of a friend.  I've known them since they were knee high, and now one's in 12th grade and one's starting junior college.  They live over an hour away so I don't see them sometimes for a year or a couple of years, but they went Covid-crazy in isolation and begged to see me.  I said sure, and they've been coming by for sleepovers almost every weekend since. My friend then gets to watch what she wants on TV for one evening.  Her going to work and my beau going to work are my major exposures.  She's a nurse and very aware.  He is neither.  One of the girls is schooling on the computer completely.  The other has mostly computer classes but also a one-on-one in-person situation starting... maybe this week.  We don't know.

[Ambergris]

6 hours ago, Midnightmom said:

 

IMO it would NOT be a continuing crisis if actions of some states' governors would stop playing politics with this disease because of "orange man bad" political leanings.  

Like how?

[Jeepers]

Thanks Amber. You are lucky they want to come visit and help you. And they are lucky they have someplace to go and get away for awhile. My son said they haven't watched a TV show from start to finish since his son was born four years ago. So I get how their mom feels. Good for everyone all around.

 

Use those young muscles while they are willing and available  

                        

[Littlesister]

I have heard that the shortages we have been having could get worse maybe next year. I hope and pray they are wrong. They are saying because of the riots and with who ever wins the election and it won't matter who wins, the truckers will have problems getting the food to the stores That also will go for non food items. i just hope I am set for all the mess that's on the horizon. They are talking about shortages because of the wild fires in CA and flooding in other places causing shortages that we may not see till next year. Wish I knew what those shortages would be so I could be ready. Though I now have enough yeast to last a while for both myself and family. If my granddaughter in Washington state needs yeast, I am going to get a 5lb bag from DH's cousin to send her. That would hold her a while though she will have to measure it out. I will let her know the amount to use each time when I check my packets of yeast. She is all the time making bread. 

I did get a bunch of the aluminum pans from the dollar tree so I should be good on those for awhile. Though I haven't really seen a shortage on those yet. But the foil is starting to get very low now. Still haven't seen any stocking up at the 2 stores I go to the most.  Cleaning products are still slim to none but lots of laundry detergent and fabric softner now. 

[Midnightmom]

7 hours ago, Ambergris said:

Like how?

Capricious mandates, business closings, no indoor church or singing allowed, etc, etc, etc.

Gov. Newsom can't make up his mind! Constantly changing the "rules" and guidelines; ruining many small businesses.

This whole thing was sold as a two-week "shut down" to prevent the overburdening of hospitals, but.................once power is gained, it is very very hard to let it go. 

[Ambergris]

Nobody likes to let go of power, true; it's something people in power have to watch about themselves.  And nobody respects someone who can't make up his mind.  But (bear in mind I don't know California rules) is he changing the rules because he can't make up his mind, or because he is trying to loosen them to adapt to give people more freedom when the disease weakens, then tighten the rules upon finding out that they were loosened too much and have let the disease gain back strength?  Do you have evidence he's not just trying to find the right middle ground based on information that keeps changing?

Edited September 23, 2020 by Ambergris

[Homesteader]

On 9/21/2020 at 9:36 PM, Annarchy said:

Ammo is non-existent.  We’ve had our order in for two months.  Nada. Everyone calling is saying the same thing.

 

We got lost in the national forest last week, but came out to get some fishing bait at the local sporting shop.  I was talking to the owner while standing in front of the gun display. He said that he's not been able to get ammo in months and now can't get guns.  

[Littlesister]

He's right. You can't find guns nor ammo now.  Last time I went to Dicks sporting goods there were no hand guns nor ammo. That was over a month ago. They only had rifles and shotguns.   My SIL said that ammo in Norfolk and VA Beach was all out as well.  People are buying it up because of a possible civil war and riots. 

 

I forgot to say that I was in Food Lion today and they were stocking food.  The canned goods were well stocked this morning. But the cleaning supplies were still empty.

Edited September 25, 2020 by Littlesister

[TheCG]

Went to Target yesterday.  Distinct lack of gluten free pasta (they only had spaghetti noodles).  They did, however, have lots of GF Kraft mac & cheese...mislabeled at $.99.  If yesterday was the second time I've told them it's mislabeled, am I justified in cleaning out their stock today?  'cause $.99 is a lot cheaper than $2.49, and it'll all get used at our house...

[Jeepers]

Heck yeah you are justified TheCG.   

Not only justified but I think mandatory.  

[Mt_Rider]

Shortages at my house!  York Peppermint patties and graham crackers.  We'd stocked up on that long ago and .....     

 

Does anyone else experience running out of things faster than you'd think?  We're still shopping [DH is shopping] every two wks.  Seem to be keeping up with things.  Yet.....   

 

 

I think being home and off my foot for 2 months is the culprit!  Too easy to get the munchies when you can't get up and DO THINGS!!        etc.    Honestly, DH is keeping us supplied with home-made desserts...a particular favorite of his.  So we're not deprived.  But......MUNCHIES!  

 

MtRider  .....thankfully....and I just checked today....I'm the same weight on the scale.   

[euphrasyne]

We are definitely running out faster.  I think there are a few reasons for it:  

Kids home all day and eating here at home for lunch and snacks all day.

Husband must take lunch & breakfast EVERY day now b/c all the eateries at work near his building are closed.  

I'm eating less overall, but I'm going through the convenience food a lot faster.

We are using more convenience foods b/c of the stress/health stuff going on so stocks of easy foods are going faster than say...dry beans.  

 

Bah that reminds me that I've got beans soaking and I ordered fried chicken on the Kroger pick up list (8 pieces for $5 was too good a deal to pass up) for DH to get for dinner tonight.  I need to rinse them and set them on the island for tomorrow so I don't forget.  They could probably use the extra day anyway.  

[TheCG]

Hmmmph.  I ordered powdered butter on Amazon.  They sent it in a plastic canister wrapped in a plastic bag.  At some point it was dropped or mashed and the seal was blown out.  They're refunding it, but I have to ask...

 

Would you just repackage it and use it anyway?

[Jeepers]

Would I repackage it and use it? Depends. Do you have to return it? If so I'd send it back for a new one.

 

If you are getting a refund and not returning it and the seal was broken but the powder was still contained in the bag then I think I'd repackage it and use it. 

[Ambergris]

Are we talking a plastic bag full of powder, or a plastic bag with a little powder and a cannister with a little bit of a blown seal?    I would not reuse any of the powder in the bag except as a slurry to feed critters (at the very most, if there was a lot) but what's still in the container...I'd probably repackage and reuse if it's just a little bit of a broken seal.  Assuming it broke in shipping.  If the shipper shipped me a defective container, that's a quality issue and a different story. Amazon does not mince words about things like that.

[Midnightmom]

23 hours ago, TheCG said:

They did, however, have lots of GF Kraft mac & cheese...mislabeled at $.99.

Did you check the dates? Could it have been marked down because it was getting close to the "sell by" date? If it was the boxes with the packets of cheese powder it might have a "best used by" date because of that. I doesn't hurt it to go past that date, but the bright orange color of the cheese powder might get "darker."

 

BTW - the normal price around here is $.99 (unless you get it at Safeway or CVS or 7-Eleven!)

Edited September 26, 2020 by Midnightmom

[Ambergris]

Somebody in one of my FB groups found a motherlode of canning jars at Target.  Try there.

[Littlesister]

CG,  Our store here at Food Lion had Kraft mac and cheese on sale 5 for $5.00.  I got 5 of them the other day.   

Going to have to check our Target here for jars. I have a gift card, so if they have any, I will use that for a few jars.