Are Grocery Shelves Empty By You?

I'm in New England and so far the shelves haven't been empty, but sometimes we can't get a particular brand of something. Not a big deal for us since we're not loyal to any particular brand, but for those who are it can be an issue.

Count me in as another person who would pay more for good manufactured in the US. I already buy US made anywhere I can.
 
South Ohio here. Every week I hit about 4 stores just running out and stopping for Starbucks or grabbing fresh greens. It's really location to location. My home Target is torn up, the toy section looks like swiss cheese there's so many holes. Another Target a half hour away not so bad. Meier near the house was out of a lot of stuff. Meier by the college had those things but then lacked other products entirely. It's a blessing that if I have to I can drive twenty minutes and find what I need. I was expecting worse.

I work retail, toy department, (Have for years formerly at Toys R Us) and the rumors are true. We are expected to run out of a lot of stock in November. Call was given to empty the warehouses so we are getting LOTS of stock but it's very much a mixed bag. Getting 16 boxes of Jurassic World Spinosaurs that have been collecting dust is not going to help someone looking for any other toy. Hot toys are rare to get in and go fast. It's not a rumor, it's not fear mongering. Stock is really going to be rough this year. I already told my family we aren't doing presents, just spending family time together and having good food. They agreed and I'm so glad.

We've been doing this for several years. My kids are all adults and so far no grandchildren. Everyone really enjoys it. It's taken the stress out of the holidays and we just have fun getting together, eating, drinking, playing card/board games and just generally enjoying each other's company.
 


We began writing a nice check to our grown kids once they were both out of the house and done with college. Sometimes I'll gather some other small items for them/their SOs. But honestly, there is nothing they or us would want/ask for that would be impacted by any supply chain stuff. For me and DH, we don't spend much and don't buy stuff to just fill up our house. Some years we spend $100 on each other, some years more. But we'd rather direct our spending on mutual decisions like home projects or travel. Last year we skipped Thanksgiving with them and had a driveway gift exchange (they both spent more time with groups of people than we were comfortable with), so we'll be thrilled to sit down and have a meal with them!

I will go to Aldi the first week of Nov to get the wine advent calendars for their SOs, I did that last year (from total wine) and I think they enjoyed that. Hopefully that won't be impacted!
 
You know what is hard to find here (NE Ohio)?? Half & half creamer! There are flavored varieties, but most of the shelf space for plain old half & half has been almost empty this past month. Plenty of milk and other dairy products so it seems weird to me!
 
I ordered a specific Bosch dishwasher in March because I have a smaller kitchen and need a smaller model. They extended the timeline on it once, and then I was told it would come this week. I still don't have it.

Alternatively, I have had both a washer/dryer fail in 2020 and my dishwasher died about a month ago. I was fortunate that I was able to get all 3 appliances the same day my other ones died. My dishwasher also has to be a bit shorter because of the dumb way the builder installed hardwood floors, so I really only get a choice of 2 brands at any given time. I was scared to death hearing of the shortages but I seemed to do okay and had a choice of things (especially for the washer/dryer).
 


I'm going to have to look for deals in January and February. I'm still trying to get a PS5.


Good luck with that. The news had also reported there may be a shortage of electronic items with computer chips. Any currently made computer chips are sitting on those cargo ships out at sea. New ones needs metal for the chips, that aren't being harvested. Plus some of those chips need to be installed by hand. Not all of that stuff is automated. As a PP said, many plants in China are closed.

The news said if you need computers & gadgets you need to get on the ball and get them now. No waiting for Black Friday and such. :( :duck:
 
Last edited:
I have been buying a few thanksgiving items each week, just to make sure I don’t have issues. [. . .] I went to the store this morning, and they were out of fresh chicken in any form, and out of saltine crackers, which I thought was interesting.

I put saltine crackers in my online cart at Walmart a couple days ago and it limited me to 2 boxes. Now I know why. :(
 
Found the kitty litter I needed.
We got 1 more 35lb pail of cat litter 2 days ago, they didn't have the unscented kind but that's always been kinda hit or miss. My husband said the Walmart wasn't too too low on cat litter. Glad you got yours!


Make sure you guys get enough kitty litter. (Although how does one know how much will be enough? :confused3 ) Cats usually don't like their kitty litter suddenly changing without notice.
 
There’s definitely some empty shelves near me. Luckily we have a ton of options for stores (Philadelphia suburb) and can usually find what we want. We usually go to Giant, Trader Joe’s, Tsrget, and Acme.
 
Make sure you guys get enough kitty litter. (Although how does one know how much will be enough? :confused3 ) Cats usually don't like their kitty litter suddenly changing without notice.
Ours is used to several scents for lack of a better term. Always the same brand, always the same clumping action but we've only found 1 formula that we've used from Tidy Cats that he just doesn't like and it doesn't perform in the masking of the scent department anyways. While he prefers the Unscented likely the most, he's fine with the other kinds and Unscented is harder to come by anyways so he doesn't get it too too frequently. Thanks for your concern :flower3: :flower3: it's a good point.
 
I'm in RI and things are pretty good here except for a few odds and ends but nothing glaring
 
Ours is used to several scents for lack of a better term. Always the same brand, always the same clumping action but we've only found 1 formula that we've used from Tidy Cats that he just doesn't like and it doesn't perform in the masking of the scent department anyways. While he prefers the Unscented likely the most, he's fine with the other kinds and Unscented is harder to come by anyways so he doesn't get it too too frequently. Thanks for your concern :flower3: :flower3: it's a good point.

I'm curious, which brand does your cat like? When I had a cat, I got the Tidy Cats clumping litter. One time, the supermarket ran out and I was forced to buy the Tidy Cats non-clumping variety. Halfway through her first poo in the new litter, she jumped straight out of the box and wiped her butt right across my freshly shampooed carpet. There was a poo drag line a foot long. ARRRRRRGH! :badpc: I had to go right out and try to find her normal litter. :headache:
 
Last edited:
Stores near me are mostly well stocked, with only a few empty spots. However, just this week I noticed that canned cat food was almost wiped out at Walmart. DW tells me it's been that way off and on for months. Supermarkets generally have a good supply, so I don't understand the Walmart issue.
 
Our local grocery store chains have been good.
Meijer though has been not good - many empty shelves.
I’m in the Chicago area
Just went to Meijer yesterday. Yikes. Chicago area. Our Targets have many empty shelves also. Very definitely showing problems.
 
I'm curious, which brand does your cat like? When I had a cat, I got the Tidy Cats clumping litter. One time, the supermarket ran out and I was forced to buy the Tidy Cats non-clumping variety. Halfway through her first poop in the new litter, she jumped straight out of the box and wiped her but right across my freshly shampooed carpet. There was a poop drag line a foot long. ARRRRRRGH! :badpc: I had to go right out and try to find her normal litter. :headache:
We use Tidy Cats clumping litter (sounds like our cats were similar to liking that :) )

I think we would scour our metro in order to find Tidy Cats clumping or pay a fortune for it on Amazon or similar place lol. We've never tried a different brand or non-clumping before just different scents of Tidy Cats clumping. I'm afraid of trying to switch brands or do non-clumping testing the luck of our cat in the litter department, I feel your pain about having to clean up after your cat :hug:
 
So, on the Aldi's trip, ONE of the red tubs of lunch meat was back - turkey - so I grabbed that (still no tubs of any ham, chicken, or roast beef). Smoked salmon was also finally back - got that.

BUT - fresh salmon was gone, pie crust was gone, pumpkin was gone, 12 packs of TP were gone, and jugs of water were gone, so 5 more items to get later...it gets annoying that my 2nd grocery trip of the week now has required items and isn't just my produce/allergy pick up...also had to change the dinner plan to salmon BLTAs (from fresh salmon) b/c I can't make what isn't there...
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top