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Empty Store Shelves?

tyty333

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Joined
Dec 17, 2008
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Have you guys noticed missing items on your store shelves? I don't want to jinx myself but I haven't noticed anything missing yet. I seem to be able to
get everything I usually buy. I'm located in the southeast. Just wondering if other places are having problems?

If you are seeing cleared out shelves or missing items can you give us an idea of what it is and where you are located? You dont have to be specific if you dont want to...northeast, west coast, etc. is good enough. I'm just curious what's going on in other states (or around the world depending on where you're located).
 
Shipping has been very delayed in many parts of the world. Our supermarket (here in Asia) has been out of Cheerios for a long time, and that’s the only cereal my son likes. Our IKEA is out of stock on many, many items. Fortunately the supermarkets here are mostly still very well stocked, and if you’re not picky with brands, you can get what you want.
 
Nothing specific here yet (U.K.) but there are all sorts of dire warnings about stocking up for Christmas. Energy prices have soared, we’re short of HGV drivers, and all the shops are looking for staff. The next few months might be interesting…..
 
Same here @Snowdrop13 ...warnings about items for Christmas. Luckily I don't have any little kids to worry about having
just the right toy for Christmas. I'm also seeing Help Wanted signs up all over the place.

@peacechick Good to hear that you are in pretty good shape. Hope your son will eat generic Cheerios. I know that kids
can be picky though...mine sure was!
 
I’m in the South of England. I generally get food shopping online and it’s been fine so far. There’s definitely more substitutions than usual though. I went to a physical supermarket last week for the first time in a month or so and there were very definite gaps on the shelves, along with strategic placement of items - items two deep at the front of some shelves but empty space behind where there would usually be more product. Gaps were mainly tinned goods/packets and some fresh meats and veg.

I read that supermarkets here are prioritising delivery of high margin, low bulk items to their shops (as a result of the lorry driver shortage). So bottled water is de-prioritised for delivery as it takes too much room to transport, as may be loo roll (take #2 panic on that then!). But we have cumulative problems in the U.K. as snowdrop said!
 
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I'm seeing gaps (ok, online shopping substitutions) too (Scotland). But so far there is no specific pattern. For a few weeks we couldn't get red lentils, there were no iced type baked goods and for the past two weeks it has been black bins bags. MIL (6 miles away, different supermarket) is also seeing gaps but for different items.
 
For the last 5 days my Wegmans in western NY has been completely out of Philadelphia cream cheese and Jello pudding (I noticed the latter because it is near the former).
 
I am in Utah, south of Salt Lake county. Did some shopping at our neighborhood supermarket today. I only needed Halloween candies and beer. Saw some empty parts of shelves. Broth and stock in boxes, juices in boxes for children, baking needs, chocolate and nuts spreads. I bought 3 boxes of chicken broth and 3 boxes of chicken bone broth because I cook with them almost every day. Also saw empty shelves around paper towels (TP maybe), not sure what was missing.
 
Tomorrow I go to BJ's to stock up for the last half of the year. I got a feeling this will be interesting
 
Tires, there are lots and lots of tires out there but they are sitting on ships waiting to be unloaded and they are not a priority.
The shelves are empty at many tire shops.
 
Frozen section in central CT is touch and go. Random frozen veggies are out, I haven’t been able to find the Evol morning bowls I like so much. That is strange because they are not cheap and yet all four varieties are out.

That’s really it but I haven’t had to buy paper products so we might be buying tissues next time instead of toilet paper with how things are going.
 
In the Southeast US -- Gatorade, kids juice boxes, and frozen breakfast foods have been very limited for several weeks. The local grocery chain has limited the purchase of paper products again. And almost no canned cat food available. Weird!
 
Luckily it sounds like a minor inconvenience at this point. Let's hope it stays that way...fingers crossed!
 
I find in my area of New England that one store may be out of some things like frozen breakfast sausages, while a different store (different chain) will have them. Not too many things are missing, but a few are, but I've usually been able to find them somewhere else when its something I really want and am willing to look around. I go to 4 different grocery store chains, off and on, and it is interesting that each chain seems to have some kind of shortage, but it is different items at each chain. My dog is on prescription food, and the online pet pharmacy that I typically buy it from (autoship) was out of it for a while, but I managed to find it on Chewy.
 
Ok so last night I went to the publix nearest me because it was an emergency (I needed some turkey necks) and gatoraide /juice aisle is very very low, like bare shelf low in many places. Bread aisle is also low.

The fruits were lacking. seriously so!

At BJ's today there was definite holes. I figured I would give out candy this year for halloween, and wow....that aisle was pretty empty! baking aisle where I get my nuts, also had some holes. and they have limits on toilet paper and paper towels, which were not in place.

On the Pet front, Lucky's meds took a few weeks (Adequan) . Her vet figured out a way that I can get her stuff elsewhere when he doesn't have it in office but that has me really freaking out a bit as she has issues even standing without this stuff.
 
Arcadian said:
On the Pet front, Lucky's meds took a few weeks (Adequan) . Her vet figured out a way that I can get her stuff elsewhere when he doesn't have it in office but that has me really freaking out a bit as she has issues even standing without this stuff.
Click to expand...

Can you stock up on his meds? That would scare me too. My prescription food being unavailable has me worried too, but meds are probably worse. I could probably figure out a way replace food, but I doubt that's possible with meds.
 
That's what I was going to say @Lookinagain ...I would try to stock up on her meds if possible @Arcadian .

I worry that we are using up the stuff that is currently stocked in warehouses but as soon as that runs out we'll be needing the stuff
that's parked off the coast in CA (and other states). I'm hoping this is not the case but it really makes me wonder.:???:

I'm worried that there is going to be a run on food items any minute now. I guess after the last toilet paper fiasco I'm a bit
skittish! :errrr:
 
I haven't noticed supermarket shelves being short, but we have several car dealers not too far from us. Their lots are nearly empty.
 
Can I ask - are the issues in the US purely Covid driven? The bare shelves in the U.K. seem to be being sneered at in the European press (as reported in the U.K. press, so I’m not sure how reliable that is!) as a self-inflicted consequence of Brexit. I’m sure Brexit is compounding our issues here, but it sounds like we’d be having problems anyway if there’s supply chain issues in the US too?

I know our domestic supplies are affected by a lack of lorry drivers (lots of European drivers won’t take jobs here any more, plus there’s a backlog of British certified drivers as enhanced driving tests weren’t carried out during lockdowns). Is it just the latter element affecting your food supplies? I understood that electrical product supplies are affected by lockdowns in Asia, but foods (especially perishable) are surprising me more.

I’m hoping that supermarkets take a more proactive view to rationing if there are real problems, given recent experiences with Covid. There’s already buying limits in place for loo roll etc at some supermarkets here to stop panic buying before it starts.
 
KaeKae said:
I haven't noticed supermarket shelves being short, but we have several car dealers not too far from us. Their lots are nearly empty.
Click to expand...

Yes, new cars here are in short supply and prices on used cars are soaring as a result. I think it’s driven by shutdowns in factories in Asia causing shortages of computer chips?
 
lissyflo said:
Can I ask - are the issues in the US purely Covid driven? The bare shelves in the U.K. seem to be being sneered at in the European press (as reported in the U.K. press, so I’m not sure how reliable that is!) as a self-inflicted consequence of Brexit. I’m sure Brexit is compounding our issues here, but it sounds like we’d be having problems anyway if there’s supply chain issues in the US too?

I know our domestic supplies are affected by a lack of lorry drivers (lots of European drivers won’t take jobs here any more, plus there’s a backlog of British certified drivers as enhanced driving tests weren’t carried out during lockdowns). Is it just the latter element affecting your food supplies? I understood that electrical product supplies are affected by lockdowns in Asia, but foods (especially perishable) are surprising me more.

I’m hoping that supermarkets take a more proactive view to rationing if there are real problems, given recent experiences with Covid. There’s already buying limits in place for loo roll etc at some supermarkets here to stop panic buying before it starts.
Click to expand...
They can’t get the ships unloaded and there are not enough truck drivers to move the goods. I heard today that they were short 60,000 truckers before Covid and now it’s much worse.
 
No, nothing missing here in France. Never had a problem here except in early 2020 during hard lockdown ( eggs and - you guessed it tp for about 1 week as well as fresh fish)
 
I haven't noticed any shortages in nyc, and there's plenty of food in the farmers market right now. What i did notice were the prices. My grocery bill is 20% higher than in the summer of 2020.
 
Lookinagain said:
I find in my area of New England that one store may be out of some things like frozen breakfast sausages, while a different store (different chain) will have them. Not too many things are missing, but a few are, but I've usually been able to find them somewhere else when its something I really want and am willing to look around. I go to 4 different grocery store chains, off and on, and it is interesting that each chain seems to have some kind of shortage, but it is different items at each chain. My dog is on prescription food, and the online pet pharmacy that I typically buy it from (autoship) was out of it for a while, but I managed to find it on Chewy.
Click to expand...

Thank you posting this @Lookinagain . Our dog is on prescription dog food too. I better get a few extra bags.
 
No shortages here yet…but prices have increased for many items.

www.cnn.com

Grocery store shelves aren't going back to normal this year

If you hoped grocery stores this fall and winter would look like they did in the Before Times, with limitless options stretching out before you in the snack, drink, candy and frozen foods aisles, get ready for some disappointing news.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com
 
We have what I call rolling blackouts. Certain food stuffs are missing one week while others are plentiful and vice versa. One store will be totally out of Progresso canned soup while another has a lot. Red meat, at least certain cuts, are not as consistently available. Baking goods are becoming scarce. I assumed people are stocking up on flour etc for the holidays. It's a new learning experience to plan out a meal and not be able to find all the ingredients in the store.
 
I heard on the radio news today that the restaurants and bars here can't get glassware or regular sized bottles of wine. I assume they were talking about the bar wines they serve as they were talking about the bars having to buy the "big" bottles that don't fit in the place they are usually kept. Luckily those aren't the kind I drink, but I did go to my wine store after that! Who knows what will be next. I was at a Whole Foods a few towns over and half of the butcher area where they keep the fresh meat was closed off. It's not the one I generally go to so I don't know if that is normal or not. I'm going to the Whole Foods near me tomorrow so I'll have a better idea then.
 
Lookinagain said:
I heard on the radio news today that the restaurants and bars here can't get glassware or regular sized bottles of wine. I assume they were talking about the bar wines they serve as they were talking about the bars having to buy the "big" bottles that don't fit in the place they are usually kept. Luckily those aren't the kind I drink, but I did go to my wine store after that! Who knows what will be next. I was at a Whole Foods a few towns over and half of the butcher area where they keep the fresh meat was closed off. It's not the one I generally go to so I don't know if that is normal or not. I'm going to the Whole Foods near me tomorrow so I'll have a better idea then.
Click to expand...

There was some muttering here about “wine shortages“. I’m afraid I went out and panic bought champagne and Cloudy Bay for Christmas…….:bigsmile:
 
I am in the northeast and I see holes in the shelves but it is hit or miss. Some weeks I see some things short and the next week I see others. It had been said that the stores had trouble keeping bacon in stock - not a biggie for me. Meat is hit or miss too. Took three weeks to find my oatmeal breakfast bars and then they had tons of them. I did make a big Amazon order for toliet paper and paper towels. I have also been picking up some items for Christmas baking. I figure when folks start really buying those things that the items may be scarce. I do notice that prices have really gone up overall. Glad I don't have a big family to feed here anymore!
 
I normally go grocery shopping after 20:30 on Thursdays and empty shelves is not unusual being so late at night.
Not too bothered about that as I can usually find alternatives that I could buy instead.
DK :))
 
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