Shortages in the grocery stores...

[steveclarkus]

I’m 90% carnivore and COSTCO is putting limits on meat. Getting worried. I am finding that the 72% lean hamburger sold in those plastic tubes is probably the most flavorful I’ve had in years and has plenty of saturated fat. It seems to always be available so I won’t starve. Good eggs are hot and miss.

 

[seattleshaver]

More and more I think that those places not a prone to hoarding are the places fully in stock.

 

[KUfan]

Was in Walmart yesterday early morning, ground beef almost wiped out, not much for steak either. Pork was really thin, as was chicken. They stock overnight, every night. Not a good sign. Sandwich meats looked better, but numerous outs. Went to HyVee afterwards, more of everything meat-wise in stock. They have a phenominal full-service meat area which looked pretty full, steaks, roasts, ground beef, chops, loins, bacon--looked business as usual. But the packaged ground beef, steak, roast and the pork and chicken sections were thinner than normal for this store, but if you wanted a certain cut, they had something. I know one of the butchers there, and as he packaged my limit of three pounds of ground chuck for me, we chatted about the state of things. He said prices are going up, supply is spotty, and limits will be here for awhile. Since we are in Nebraska, you'd think we would be in better shape than elsewhere. Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas are 1,2,3 in U.S. meat production, and local talk is shortages are going to be here awhile. Doesn't bode well for areas of our country where meat processing is far away. An earlier poster mentioned ground beef in plastic tubes tasting better than the beef in trays. I agree, and what is the best is the ground beef from the full service case. You can grill up a burger that will equal any burger from a pricey steakhouse. I prefer ground chuck, makes a wonderful burger.

 

[Tanuki]

Finally was able to buy a jar of yeast for my wife. Other things have been spotty in Portland, OR; but they do appear. Waiting to get some yeast took almost two months.

 

[seattleshaver]

Was in Walmart yesterday early morning, ground beef almost wiped out, not much for steak either. Pork was really thin, as was chicken. They stock overnight, every night. Not a good sign. Sandwich meats looked better, but numerous outs. Went to HyVee afterwards, more of everything meat-wise in stock. They have a phenominal full-service meat area which looked pretty full, steaks, roasts, ground beef, chops, loins, bacon--looked business as usual. But the packaged ground beef, steak, roast and the pork and chicken sections were thinner than normal for this store, but if you wanted a certain cut, they had something. I know one of the butchers there, and as he packaged my limit of three pounds of ground chuck for me, we chatted about the state of things. He said prices are going up, supply is spotty, and limits will be here for awhile. Since we are in Nebraska, you'd think we would be in better shape than elsewhere. Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas are 1,2,3 in U.S. meat production, and local talk is shortages are going to be here awhile. Doesn't bode well for areas of our country where meat processing is far away. An earlier poster mentioned ground beef in plastic tubes tasting better than the beef in trays. I agree, and what is the best is the ground beef from the full service case. You can grill up a burger that will equal any burger from a pricey steakhouse. I prefer ground chuck, makes a wonderful burger.

Since Nebraska is a small market and those companies are national in scope, it may not be an advantage living close to them. I'd guess they would try to fulfill their major markets firsts. I may be wrong however.

 

[EL SOFA]

It's been hard to score chicken wings folks.. Other than wings, just the obvious things are hit or miss, like toilet paper. Going inside supermarkets is getting a bit sketchy to be honest. Anyone else feel that way inside the markets?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I think meat is OK here, but I have some on order anyway.

I've already got 1.1/2 kilos of minced beef in the freezer, plus a few pork chops and chicken thighs. I should be getting a kilo of chicken legs, a kilo of drummers, 20 pork sausages, and some sandwich meat on Monday. There should be 15 eggs too. Hopefully they'll all happen.

I also have a decent meat delivery from an online butcher due in the next couple of weeks. A kilo each of pork loin, beef roast, turkey roll, venison, lamb, mixed game mince, and woodpigeon breasts. That should let me knock up some jerky, plus some pies, stews, chilli, and curries for the freezer. There should be some more eggs coming with them as well.

That should easily keep me going for the next three months or more if they all happen, but I ordered that much (and that wide assortment), fully expecting some of it to not come through. If any of them are late or unavailable, I have got a couple of kilos of red lentils in the cupboard for making dhal, and for use as mince substitute in other dishes, to tide me over.

 

[rbscebu]

In the Philippines it's not so much shortages in the store but rather getting into the store. Grocery stores and pharmacies are the only stores allowed to open and they are limited to the number of people allowed inside at any one time. It can take an hour or two of waiting in line (at least 1.5m apart and wearing masks of course) just to get into each of these stores.

 

[Tanuki]

Anyone else feel that way inside the markets?

Portland supermarkets feel pretty safe to me. Hospitals here are not seeing very many pandemic in-patients. Chicken is being rationed, two packs to a customer at my big market. Most foods in normal supply. I haven’t seen a hoarder-style shopping cart in weeks.

 

[MntnMan62]

Here on the East Coast in the NY metro area we've had different shortages at times. First was the toilet paper and paper towels. But that has resolved itself. Now, the entire Shoprite was cleaned out of ........ drum roll.......paper napkins. Really? They had everything else although rice was in moderately short supply. I was worried that meats would be hard to come by but there was plenty of beef, chicken and a reasonable amount of fish, although I wouldn't say the selection was vast. I'm hearing we are going to be seeing meat shortages so I've been buying different kinds of meat over the past couple months. So we have porterhouse steaks, lots of NY Strip Steaks, a couple whole chickens, lots of chicken breasts. I probably should buy some pork loins and some bacon. But we are pretty stocked and could survive for quite a while with what we have. I think the meat shortage will be a real thing because while NY strip steaks are typically around $10 a pound, the last two visits I was able to buy NY strip steaks for $8 a pound. I suspect there will be a glut as meat producers process as much as they can and try to sell it as fast as they can. Once that supply is gone, watch the prices jump. This thing is going to be with us for as long as it takes to develop, distribute and get a majority of the population vaccinated.

 

[EL SOFA]

Portland supermarkets feel pretty safe to me. Hospitals here are not seeing very many pandemic in-patients. Chicken is being rationed, two packs to a customer at my big market. Most foods in normal supply. I haven’t seen a hoarder-style shopping cart in weeks.

That's great to hear. I have family in Portland. What a fun place to live.

 

[EL SOFA]

If opening up means I'm part of the herd that gets culled, so be it.

Nah, you'll be fine!

 

[sdimartino]

It's been hard to score chicken wings folks.. Other than wings, just the obvious things are hit or miss, like toilet paper. Going inside supermarkets is getting a bit sketchy to be honest. Anyone else feel that way inside the markets?

I live in Oakland, California. Going to the grocery store around these parts is always sketchy. That being said, I've definitely noticed that people around here seem to be more on edge in public places like grocery stores. I think the combination of the pandemic, long lines, having to wear masks, and now the hotter weather is all starting to wear on people. There's been a couple of trips to Safeway lately where I thought shots might ring out. Nobody seems to want to make eye contact anymore, and people sure as hell aren't greeting each other.

Scary times.

 

[ex-bugonaut]

Central Maryland: Still shortages of TP and paper towels. Add to that flour, yeast, ANYTHING anti-bacterial. Meats go quickly too. Still lots of places with empty shelves.

Exactly the situation at this time in both Phoenix and Tucson.

 

[seattleshaver]

I agree that, at least initially, the grocery store seemed strange. I avoid crowds so I avoid the large stores. There's always a few sketchy people in any larger crowd.

In the smaller neighborhood grocery stores people are less confrontational and more patient. It's kind of refreshing to have people spaced out and more understanding. In the old days if you went to the store and it happened to have longer lines, there was always one guy (the guy in front of you) who just had to turn around and talk loudly about how crappy this store is and why don't they call out more cashiers, bla, bla, bla.

Now people wear their masks, maintain their spacing and and turn around if they realize they are going the wrong way down a one way aisle.

Still, I hate wearing a mask and I'm always glad to get out of there so I can take the mask off and not have to worry so much about "spacing". I went to a store that wasn't a grocery store for the first time in months the other day. I was glad to get out of there as well. Strange times we live in.

 

[Whilliam]

Living near the Berkshires, we have our share of second homes here; they are mostly owned by NYC people. So every Friday, the population swells and the local supermarket gets cleaned out by Saturday. Currently, we have no paper goods (towels, tissues, TP, napkins, etc.), a sparse assortment of soups and pastas, and a limited amount of meat.

Usually, things return to normal by Tuesday.

 

[NWTSCL]

I'm in the Silicon Valley of California.

One major supermarket chain immediately started having shortages, especially with meat and paper products. And then they had a virus breakout in their distribution center, which hurt supply even more. Most product shelves are fairly empty. Not only that, but this chain has been handling social distancing very poorly. Almost zero cleaning. Shopping carts, hand baskets, check stand belts, customer pay terminals are uncleaned. Employees were complaining about a lack of PPE, yet they don't even wear what they have; they walk around with it under their noses or chins. They are continually socializing well within 6 feet of customers and coworkers. Distance markings are on the floor, but nearly no one follows them and the store doesn't enforce it. I have been to several of their stores. These problems exist at all of them.

There is another chain that is doing quite well. Shelves have been pretty much stocked as normal, things are cleaned quite well, and social distancing is very well controlled.

 

[ackvil]

What do you attribute this too? Is your local population just more likely to hoard or what do you think explains your area's shortages compared to other areas with no shortages?

Sorry for the late reply but I just saw your post.

I am not quite sure why so many shortages but one problem is that the stores in my area are not getting re-stocked. I have had conversations with the employees in the store and have been told that certain products such as rice and beans are being shipped sporadically. The initial reaction that cleaned out the shelves was hoarding - but the products are not being replenished. As an illustration, the store has not any shipments of rubbing alcohol in over three months.

The stores are doing a great job of cleaning and sanitizing all the equipment. It is rather amusing to see employees sanitizing shelves that are completely barren.

 

[KUfan]

Since Nebraska is a small market and those companies are national in scope, it may not be an advantage living close to them. I'd guess they would try to fulfill their major markets firsts. I may be wrong however.

The local TV channel had a news clip last night about the packing plant here, and where the beef goes, among other details about the plant. A majority is distributed within a roughly 300 mile radius of the plant, about a third is exported, and the remainder goes to restaurants, schools and hospitality businesses. Also mentioned was that every plant had it's own market focus, example--another plant might send product to large metro areas, another could be export oriented. I have seen carts of boxes of beef and pork while shopping at supermarkets and Walmart, waiting to be stocked. These boxes have a point of origin label, usually from one of the big four in meatpacking, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Texas. I would say most all of our meat sold here was raised and processed within a few hundred miles of the retailer. A Tyson plant in southwest Kansas sustained signicant fire damage last fall, shutting it down for three months. This plant annually processes seven percent of the beef output of this country, like 6500 cattle daily. The result--live beef prices to cattlemen dropped by almost 15 percent, surrounding plants couldn't handle the extra workload pressed on them, and the supply chain to stores got messed up. Now with the Covid19 crisis, it is affecting every packing plant in a bad way. That has made the meat supply thing a big problem, and it likely will be with us for some time.

 

[njpaddy]

Saw a reporter on an NJ tv station last night saying that flour is the new TP. When I told my wife, she said no wonder the flour shelf was near empty when we went last week. I didn't notice. As long as my local liquor store has gin on the shelf, I can survive.