Begun, the panic-buying has ... again.

[NotUrsula]

I don't know if it's related to weather or to the sickness-that-must-not-be-named, but I am seeing empty store shelves again here. The palpable sense of panic when in a grocery store seems to have really ramped up this Monday, as various local schools announced that they were going to temporarily go back to remote learning because of staffing issues.

This time it seems to be perishable food and medicine that is flying off the shelves. In every grocery &/or drugstore I've been to over the past 3 days (trying to find something specific, so I went to several) not only were the usual wintertime bare shelves evident in the dairy and bread aisles, but the meat section and deli counter was mostly empty, and the cough/cold section looked like it had been attacked by a horde of locusts. (Liquor shelves also looked a bit bare, but I figure that was a holdover from NYE celebrations.) Many folks in the store seemed to have carts really loaded down with lots of multiple items.

So, anyone else getting a rising sense of desperation at the supermarket lately?

PS: I don't live near I-95; I'm in the midwest, and though we did get some snow overnight, it was just a light dusting, and that was all that was forecast. Normally here, if it's weather, panic-buying is all about milk, eggs, and bread and not much else; this seems different.

 

[MillauFr]

I've seen no problems in Seattle.

 

[chickapin parterre]

number one reason we see empty shelves here in Yuma.....there is no employees to put food on the shelves. Walk into the store at 7:00, asiles littered with full boxes.

 

[Christine]

We are having issues here in Virginia but I know exactly why they happened.

The Sunday after New Year's Eve/Day saw the stores wiped out of perishables mainly and that is because everyone overshopped for the holiday foods and we didn't get any food trucks in to help replenish on that Sunday. I said to myself "I'll just go out later in the week and get some fresh veggies, etc." Well the very next day we got a foot of snow (and the highway was crippled for 24 hours). Only starting yesterday and today have the food trucks started making it back into our area so I'm going to hit the store after I get off work. I'm sure if you live off the I95 corridor, many trucks were delayed because of the Monday/Tuesday debacle and the storms.

Now if you are living somewhere else, I don't know. But our issues seem to be post-holiday and weather issues.

 

[bjscheel]

Short on bread, canned biscuits, and cough drops this week.

 

[DLgal]

I mean, the cold medicine aisles being wiped clean is because so many people are sick right now. My son woke up with a sore throat yesterday and we luckily had a bunch of cold/flu meds on hand, but he needed some lozenges and when I went to get some, there were very few bags left, and all were the "gross" flavors like honey lemon. I did manage to get a bag of sore throat lollipops in the kids area, but those were almost all gone too.

I went grocery shopping right after and oddly, the only shortage I noticed was fresh chicken.

 

[Jennasis]

Nothing wrong here...yet.

 

[Kennywood]

The global supply chain fiasco is a large part of it.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I doubt it's hoarding at the present moment though human behaviors and all ya know.

Cold medication? Well that's a no brainer in recent months all sorts of stuff have seen a resurgence

Most of it is likely weather, holiday shopping and truck shipment issues.

We just did a grocery store order for pick up Tuesday. Walmart didn't have cinnamon rolls (likely holiday related), fiesta blend cheese (got me there but I assume holiday related and truck restocking issues) and tater tots. Who would be hording shredded cheese and tater tots? Plus Costco had shredded cheese the day before just fine.

You're in MO right OP? Near STL? I'm sure they are experiencing the same below zero windchill recently, snow and ice issues from New Years and well we got a storm system today. I also figure people might have been trying to keep closer to their homes right after the holidays in case of exposure. I know my husband said maybe it's a good idea for us to not eat out much for a bit so while we already do a decent amount of home cooking we'll probably add a few extra meals in the coming weeks that would have been eaten out.

 

[Minnesota!]

Not seeing it here, in MN. I had 2 Instacart orders come from 2 different stores today and the only item they couldnt find (out of just under 80) was the Christmas m-n-ms I wanted (christmas my mom this weekend).

Went to Target last night and everything was fully stocked that I could see.

 

[lynxstch]

Western MD here (and other parts of MD from what I am told), only shelves that are really empty are the ones in the cat food row. Dog food row seems fully stocked, but less and less of cat food. Just the canned wet food, not the dry food. Even the Sheba and Fancy Feast were gone yesterday,,and there were only about 20 cans of Friskies on the shelves. Even Chewy seems to be 'temporarily out of stock' on almost all Friskies variety packs.

Also there was very little in the way of Great Value ice cream yesterday, just a couple of flavors,,and of course the prices on everything have gone up. The medicine was was mostly full too, where last week there were a lot of empty spots.

For a couple of months the frozen potato row in Walmart was almost empty,,now it's filled to overflowing.

 

[pigletto]

I don't know if it's related to weather or to the sickness-that-must-not-be-named, but I am seeing empty store shelves again here. The palpable sense of panic when in a grocery store seems to have really ramped up this Monday, as various local schools announced that they were going to temporarily go back to remote learning because of staffing issues.

This time it seems to be perishable food and medicine that is flying off the shelves. In every grocery &/or drugstore I've been to over the past 3 days (trying to find something specific, so I went to several) not only were the usual wintertime bare shelves evident in the dairy and bread aisles, but the meat section and deli counter was mostly empty, and the cough/cold section looked like it had been attacked by a horde of locusts. (Liquor shelves also looked a bit bare, but I figure that was a holdover from NYE celebrations.) Many folks in the store seemed to have carts really loaded down with lots of multiple items.

So, anyone else getting a rising sense of desperation at the supermarket lately?

PS: I don't live near I-95; I'm in the midwest, and though we did get some snow overnight, it was just a light dusting, and that was all that was forecast. Normally here, if it's weather, panic-buying is all about milk, eggs, and bread and not much else; this seems different.

I definitely saw evidence of supply issues where I am in Ontario, Canada. I saw panic buying at the start of the pandemic .. mostly cleaning products and toilet paper. This is just random bare shelves all over the store. It just looked really understocked and picked over.

And don’t get me started on the prices. Everything is smaller and more expensive. And I mean at least 90% of what I looked at has shrunk, gone up in price, or both. Strange days indeed. I had been noticing these things with increasing regularity but it was very evident on my last shop.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Western MD here (and other parts of MD from what I am told), only shelves that are really empty are the ones in the cat food row. Dog food row seems fully stocked, but less and less of cat food. Just the canned wet food, not the dry food. Even the Sheba and Fancy Feast were gone yesterday,,and there were only about 20 cans of Friskies on the shelves. Even Chewy seems to be 'temporarily out of stock' on almost all Friskies variety packs.

Also there was very little in the way of Great Value ice cream yesterday, just a couple of flavors,,and of course the prices on everything have gone up. The medicine was was mostly full too, where last week there were a lot of empty spots.

For a couple of months the frozen potato row in Walmart was almost empty,,now it's filled to overflowing.

They've been talking about how pet food is (and well has been since early in the pandemic) affected by supply issues. I've seen both dry food and wet food mentioned. What has also been mentioned as sorta a byproduct of the pandemic is more pets have been adopted and so there's more pet owners purchasing food so you have a combination of supply issues (like what stuff goes into the food plus the production of the food plus the distribution of the food plus any labor shortages) and increased demand outstripping what's available. It's been a rollercoaster for pet owners throughout this pandemic with ups and downs on reasons why food is in shorter supply depending on what stage of the pandemic it was.

 

[mamamary]

No problems in my part of Maryland that I’ve seen so far. People going crazy for in home Covid tests. I was able to get some today and I feel like I won the lottery.

 

[AussieFan8]

I've noticed random things are very low stock at my grocery store in Missouri. Canned tomatoes, quick oats, certain canned beans.

 

[dcassetta]

Pet food is the only issue I've seen recently. Our little old lady cat is on a prescription diet that we have had trouble getting on and off for almost 2 years now. Thankfully, there is a different formula that she can and will eat that has stayed available.

 

[Pooh2]

Went to Target this morning. The freezer section and food shelves still have lots of empty space but no different that it has been the past 6 months.
At the supermarket yesterday, the produce coolers were very low on stock.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

the local Harris Teeter has a notice on their website that some items might not be available.

of course we're just a few miles north of the I-95 mess and more snow arrives tonight.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

I don't know if it's related to weather or to the sickness-that-must-not-be-named, but I am seeing empty store shelves again here. The palpable sense of panic when in a grocery store seems to have really ramped up this Monday, as various local schools announced that they were going to temporarily go back to remote learning because of staffing issues.

This time it seems to be perishable food and medicine that is flying off the shelves. In every grocery &/or drugstore I've been to over the past 3 days (trying to find something specific, so I went to several) not only were the usual wintertime bare shelves evident in the dairy and bread aisles, but the meat section and deli counter was mostly empty, and the cough/cold section looked like it had been attacked by a horde of locusts. (Liquor shelves also looked a bit bare, but I figure that was a holdover from NYE celebrations.) Many folks in the store seemed to have carts really loaded down with lots of multiple items.

So, anyone else getting a rising sense of desperation at the supermarket lately?

PS: I don't live near I-95; I'm in the midwest, and though we did get some snow overnight, it was just a light dusting, and that was all that was forecast. Normally here, if it's weather, panic-buying is all about milk, eggs, and bread and not much else; this seems different.

We've had supply issues in NE FL for the last 20 months. If it's not one thing, it's another. For awhile, it was TP and cleaners; then frozen veggies and meals, meats and canned goods; now it's dairy, fresh veggies/fruit, and the deli. Canned cat food (especially Friskies brand) has been in short supply; I've taken to buying multiple 24 (or bigger) packs when I come across them, on Chewy or at the grocery store.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

I doubt it's hoarding at the present moment though human behaviors and all ya know.

Cold medication? Well that's a no brainer in recent months all sorts of stuff have seen a resurgence

Most of it is likely weather, holiday shopping and truck shipment issues.

We just did a grocery store order for pick up Tuesday. Walmart didn't have cinnamon rolls (likely holiday related), fiesta blend cheese (got me there but I assume holiday related and truck restocking issues) and tater tots. Who would be hording shredded cheese and tater tots? Plus Costco had shredded cheese the day before just fine.

You're in MO right OP? Near STL? I'm sure they are experiencing the same below zero windchill recently, snow and ice issues from New Years and well we got a storm system today. I also figure people might have been trying to keep closer to their homes right after the holidays in case of exposure. I know my husband said maybe it's a good idea for us to not eat out much for a bit so while we already do a decent amount of home cooking we'll probably add a few extra meals in the coming weeks that would have been eaten out.

People making lots of tater tot casseroles?