What items have you noticed have gone missing in stores recently?

[DisneyHardin]

Our Kroger has been out of Stouffers Salisbury Steak Family meals for about 3 months. That is one of my DHs favorite "busy night" dinners. I had been making do with the meatloaf one, but this week they were out of that too.

 

[Planogirl]

I have trouble finding sugar free sports drinks and the yogurts I like. The ice storm temporarily made almost everything hard to find.

 

[barkley]

after searching multiple sources online i FINALLY found the light bulbs i couldn't find at walmart the other day (or ace weeks prior or walmart the prior time i went). i confess! i bought 13 packages of 6 each but in my defense-i have 6 outdoor fixtures that take 3 bulbs each and they inevitably tend to go out one full fixture at a time so i figure i'm set for at least 4 full go-rounds on each

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I went to Wal Mart in NH today and every single aisle had huge gaps! There was NO chicken save for 4 whole chickens and there were literally HUGE gaps in the dairy, and every other section. I usually go to Costco and had not seen this degree of missing products. I just wonder if Wal Mart has more problems getting product than Costco because they have more locations? I don't know but it is scary.

 

[focusondisney]

This was posted at Wegmans on Wednesday



There have been some Wegmans brand but this week there were none at all. Absolutely no Pillsbury or store brand refrigerator items for a few weeks. And no frozen Tyson chicken.

Paper & cleaning products were fully stocked. Juice boxes are getting better.

I noticed the flowers in the floral depts of both chain groceries have been greatly reduced lately, beyond normal seasonal limits. Saw an article yesterday about decreases from international flower growers, stated losses from 2020 & staffing issues as the cause. Interesting things I hadn’t even considered.

 

[tvguy]

I went to Wal Mart in NH today and every single aisle had huge gaps! There was NO chicken save for 4 whole chickens and there were literally HUGE gaps in the dairy, and every other section. I usually go to Costco and had not seen this degree of missing products. I just wonder if Wal Mart has more problems getting product than Costco because they have more locations? I don't know but it is scary.

Well, I think you may have touched on why I am not seeing the shortages here in my part of California that many are seeing. Things like chicken and dairy don't come from their warehouses.
They are all produced here in California and delivered direct to Walmart stores. I certainly have seen commercials for Tyson and Purdue chicken for example, but Foster Farms is the big chicken brand here. Most stores here carry Foster Farms and their store brand, which I suspect is packed by Foster Farms. Their processing plant is 100 miles from here. They do carry Dairygold dairy products, which is made in Washington state, but most of the milk here is Crystal Brand, made by, Foster Farms. And Foster Farms bottled all the Great Value fluid milk. Cream cheese, two of Kraft's 8 processing plants are in Fresno. One I believe used to be a Heinz cream cheese plant that they took over and kept running after buying Heinz.
I do wonder if part of the reason Walmarts system is different in California is because they haven't had stores here as long as other states. We didn't get our first Walmart here until 1990. And we didn't get our first Super Center until 2004.

 

[BayouQueen]

Darn…I wanted lemon bar mix for Super Bowl. Nope. It’s now lemon cupcakes instead. Too lazy to make those bars from scratch.

 

[Mousemom234]

I went to Wal Mart in NH today and every single aisle had huge gaps!

That's what my WalMart in SC looks like, too. Lots of empty shelves, some shelves filled to overflowing - but if you look closer, it's mostly the same item, not the several items that belong there. Dairy is okay if you show up soon after a delivery, but it isn't always there.

Publix is hit or miss, except for cream cheese and canned cat food. Those're almost always missing.
But it varies from trip to trip what else is missing. The other week, the fresh chicken section was filled with hams. As I said to the lady who was unhappy at the lack of ground beef, 'Those are the strangest chickens I've ever seen'. We both had a chuckle, and went back to our Quest for Dinner Stuffs.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Oh yeah, over three months since Metroid Dread launched and I still can't play it because I can't find a Switch OLED in stores anywhere. =(

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Can't find Dark chocolate M&M and other type dark chocolate items.

 

[EACarlson]

Canned Enchilada sauce, there was one small can at our local Kroger subsidiary yesterday. It's not like that's a real high volume item, especially up here where taco bell is the extent of most people's knowledge of mexican food.

 

[OKbyme]

Canned cat food and ACT Restoring rinse. Every store I have been to does not have the large ACT and cat food shelves are very sparse. I was also at a large grocery store nearby, (I think they are very expensive, so don't shop there much), and walking through the isles there were signs all over apologizing for the empty shelves.

 

[PrincesCJM]

cream cheese is hit or miss for me. When I find it, prefer the 1/3 less fat, I usually buy one more than I normally would. What I can't find is spaghetti-o's. The regular ones. My son's diet is limited (my own fault, I know - you can mom shame me later) but this is one of the things he frequently eats.

 

[disneyseniors]

I went to Wal Mart in NH today and every single aisle had huge gaps! There was NO chicken save for 4 whole chickens and there were literally HUGE gaps in the dairy, and every other section. I usually go to Costco and had not seen this degree of missing products. I just wonder if Wal Mart has more problems getting product than Costco because they have more locations? I don't know but it is scary.

Wow, that is totally different at our Walmart! All the other stores including Target have shortages. But Walmart has everything all the time.
I'm beginning to think it is a regional thing with Walmart, when I used to think they were all alike.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Wow, that is totally different at our Walmart! All the other stores including Target have shortages. But Walmart has everything all the time.
I'm beginning to think it is a regional thing with Walmart, when I used to think they were all alike.

I wonder if it has to do with the quantity of Wal Marts in the area. We have some but not a huge amount. I wonder for example in Orlando where they have at least 5 ( probably more) and they are all high traffic if they have better or worse mdse problems. IF they can get a better payback from bigger and closer stores do they allocate more? I am not saying that Costco does not have some shortages like their grassfed butter from New Zealand. I know that has to do with lockdowns in that part of the world but all in all the holes are much less glaring. Pasta seems to be a big problem too!

 

[disneyseniors]

I wonder if it has to do with the quantity of Wal Marts in the area. We have some but not a huge amount. I wonder for example in Orlando where they have at least 5 ( probably more) and they are all high traffic if they have better or worse mdse problems. IF they can get a better payback from bigger and closer stores do they allocate more? I am not saying that Costco does not have some shortages like their grassfed butter from New Zealand. I know that has to do with lockdowns in that part of the world but all in all the holes are much less glaring. Pasta seems to be a big problem too!

Um, I don't think the number of stores has anything to do with it, at least around here. I live in extreme N. Mn and we are 100 miles plus from a bigger town such as Duluth. We are not close to anything, really. We have one Walmart and people come to it from miles around in out lying areas to shop. It's either that or go over a hundred miles to a Walmart. So, I think it is regional, at least for our out of the way town.

 

[fivikse]

Canned Enchilada sauce, there was one small can at our local Kroger subsidiary yesterday. It's not like that's a real high volume item, especially up here where taco bell is the extent of most people's knowledge of mexican food.

I make this enchilada sauce frequently: https://www.budgetbytes.com/red-enchilada-sauce/

It's very easy and doesn't require hard to find ingredients.

 

[Minnesota!]

Huh. I guess that we're pretty lucky here in St. Looey.

Other than the Great TP/Disinfectant Famine in early '20, I haven't noticed any unusual shortages.

Maybe that's due to our eating very few processed foods and no soda. We just don't buy things like refrigerated dough or frozen dinners. I cook most everything from scratch. Once we had marinara made with San Marzano tomatoes, the jarred pasta sauces were in no danger from us.

Same. But in the Twin Cities. Rare boxed and processed food here (pasta and rice are about it), no pop, no frozen dinners or doughs. I do have some Chicken Pot Pies in the freezer, but otherwise - we buy a half a cow each year, stock up on turkeys in the late fall, I buy the fruits and veggies that are in season, and we use a lot of eggs, beans, and such. Make own sauces and gravies. We spend under $100/week on groceries for a family of 4...two of which are teenage boys. My younger son will be learning to make homemade pasta this week in school, so that will now be on him to save us even more moola.

My husband had a hankering for chicken nuggets today, with my Instacart/Aldi order, and they were out of those, so I got strips, but every other thing I wanted was available.

I think it is all about flexibility and finding something that work if your #1 isn't there.

Can't find Dark chocolate M&M and other type dark chocolate items.

Aldi is always flush with dark chocolate it, if you have one! And, it's GOOOOOOD stuff.

 

[Carol_]

cream cheese is hit or miss for me. When I find it, prefer the 1/3 less fat, I usually buy one more than I normally would. What I can't find is spaghetti-o's. The regular ones. My son's diet is limited (my own fault, I know - you can mom shame me later) but this is one of the things he frequently eats.

My son’s a tough one, too. My cousin went a full year on just bologna sandwiches when he was a kid, so I’m thinking it’s genetic.
I just bought cream cheese at my local farmer’s store. Now I need bagels.

 

[kymom99]

Cooked perfect natural meatballs (they are gluten free)
JTM hoagie Pattie’s