Grocery stores are poorly stocked!

[luxflairguy]

I spent my morning grocery shopping and came away with only half my list complete! The worst offender was Walmart! Nothing to be had in the Hispanic section except tortillas, No chili's, sauce or all sugar pop either. Lunch meat and bacon were decimated as was bread isle, though that was in the process of being re-stocked Even the meat cases were very low in stock! Little dairy or butter but the worst area was the cleaning isle where there were huge gaps in the shelves. No bathroom cleaner and little cleanser.
Food Lion was better but still had gaps in the baking isle and cereal isle. Meat seemed well stocked but prices have gone up!
Harris Teeter (Kroger store) well stocked but turning more and more to their own brands in every isle. Used to be able to get the full range of Spice Islands spices there, but no more! It's getting harder and harder to find Spice Islands down here! Meat case was full but no fish at all! I know Monday is the left over day!
I always shop with a list but am finding that the majority of the list gets bumped into the next list and again and again! And I know I'm crazy to shop on Mondays, but I don't go out over the weekends much anymore due to traffic and congestion, so Monday's it is! Did get a good deal on Avacado's though! Greg

 

[Ultramatic]

Yep. Happening here too.

 

 

Combination of factors going on. Less drivers and less trucks available. Truck driver have a large turnover rate. Add to that so many took early retirement for fear of CoVid. Trucking companies selling off their trucks. It's so bad Immigration is fast tracking truckers from other countries to help with the demand.

 

I went through a Popeye's drive through yesterday and on the menu board there was a sign warning us that some items may not be available "at this time". Shades of 2020 again.

 

 

 

[ea56]

I can’t even get SALT at my local Target, and they haven’t had bananas for the last two weeks! But salt? Since when has salt been a scarce item? It’s like we’re going back to the Stone Age if salt is now a precious commodity.

Eddie

 

[kenwashesmonday]

The only problem I've seen around here is a shortage of Fresca cans in the soda aisle.

 

[circlew]

I usually buy Clorox toilet bowl cleaner at GFS. I was in two of their stores last week, and neither had any of ANY brand. I'll try Menard's tomorrow.

 

[iheartmaytag]

Pet food

Several brands of pet food are short. I have been to Walmart, Target, and Dillon's and had empty shelves in the pet food isle. I was at Pet Smart this weekend, and they said that there is a shortage they can't get some of the foods. I am talking the made in America stuff not the packed in wherever with globally sourced questionable items.

I was looking for Pedigree (dry dog), Little Sheba (wet cat), Iams (dry cat). If I wanted the $4 a can foo-foo food, they had shelves of it. Regular pet food is in shortage.

At the people food store, Dillon's I noticed some bare spots here and there, mostly noticed price increases.

 

[jeb]

I try to never go to Walmart on Monday morning. In the best of times it was slim picking but lately whole sections are bare on Monday.Most mornings lately its been bad but a little better by mid morning. I think all the personal shoppers work 3rd or very early 1st shift because it is picked over by 8 or 9 am.but if you go around 12 or 1pm you have a better chance. At my Walmart the personal shoppers are about 40 percent of the people in there and it seems like every week there are more of them.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Grocery shortages.

I went to Lunds and Byerlys last Friday and they were well stocked save for a couple flavors of one brand of yogurt. Attached are some photos of what that same store looked like in April of 2020. Also some from Costco at the same time
WK78

 

[tomturbomatic]

We have said that this was coming back again to bite us in the butt. Costco is losing grocery items every week.

 

[rp2813]

Even before COVID, Target stopped carrying items that I had been buying there for quite some time, and I would also encounter bare shelves on a regular basis.  I don't know what that's about, but the whole Target experience has deteriorated. 

 

I avoid Walmart entirely.  I did try their Neighborhood Market for groceries, but staffing at the registers was abysmal.  Lines were long.  There were never more than two zombie cashiers working, and they ran on two speeds:  slow and stop.  It took forever to get out of there.  I live in one of the oldest parts of town and anything Walmart is far flung, so it was easy to quit them.

 

[qsd-dan]

I avoid Walmart entirely.

Same here. You're dead on about 2 cashiers checking out the entire store but honestly, I wouldn't be in Speedy Gonzales mode for those wages.  That outfit needs to pay their workers above slave wages and offer benefits with a revenue of 559,000,000,000 for the last fiscal year.

 

[launderess]

Long story short same pressures that hit shops and suppliers due to coivd haven't really let up. In fact in some instances things have piled on as with increased wages have been passed down the line.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...s-uk-driver-shortage-hits-supermarket-shelves

https://www.thelist.com/495067/will-the-delta-variant-cause-another-bread-shortage-in-2021/

Things are tough all over; in UK store shelves are bare and things predicted to get worse due to shortage of truck drivers.

Call for action as UK driver shortage hits supermarket shelves

Situation likely to continue unless government does more to tackle issue, suppliers warn

www.theguardian.com

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Today I was shocked. I actually received everything on my Wegmans order. Usually 1/4 to 1/2 of the order is not available. 

 

[blackstone]

Side Salads at McD, BK, Wendys

One of the casualties of the pandemic in 2020 was the option to get a side salad instead of fries at McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendys. Side salads still have not returned; only salads are the full-size ones. So, it's either take the fries, or go without.

So much for healthy eating, America.

 

[angus]

Same situation here in Connecticut. Stop&Shop, ShopRite, Walmart and Target shelves are habitually empty of even the most basic food items. Oddly enough, there are tons of antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer, bleach and all those cleaning supplies that we couldn't get in 2020. And as we have all seen, prices are continually on the rise

 

[vacerator]

Might recent storms

have any impact?
A dumb article this morning on Google by the NY post headline read;
Hurricane Ida, the dystopia we will all eventually know.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

I wouldn't put too much faith on anything from the New York Post.

 

[vacerator]

They meant where you live and in N.J.

They were correct. You're feeling it! I know people in N.J., and their folks live on a 4th. floor in Manahhtan. They had to evacuate. First "floor" under water.

 

[tomturbomatic]

It occurs to me that one component of the GOP's war against masks and vaccines was the drag COVID is taking on the economy and its factor in their war against the democrats. So every way that you can disrupt the supply chain works to your advantage. I know this is political and not for this forum, but it occurred to me as I was listening to the report on the less than spectacular rise in employment figures for August. If you keep the virus running rampant, businesses won't hire because people won't shop and people won't travel if they are afraid of being out and people cannot make things if the supply chains are broken. The hospitality and travel sectors did not show good growth. GM has closed production lines because of microchip shortages. Microchips are made in SE Asia. If GM can't get microchips, they can't make cars and trucks so they are not going to be hiring more employees. Maybe vaccine mandates on the federal and corporate level will get more people vaccinated and things might improve.