@lovendures My beverages of choice coffee and tea... getting Lipton Family size tea bags for making our beloved Southern sweet tea ( my DIL drinks about a gallon a day rather than soda) has become quite hard. My beloved Bigelow Constant comment took me a month to find a single box of 20 bags... just in time to for a return to winter temps here in the Deep South
Potatoes? I find quite easy to grow... big thing is keeping the bugs out of them/off of them here in zone 7B. I had a good crop in the small space I planted last year from planting the eyes of some I bought at Aldi that went too long and sprouted eyes. They really recommend using seed potatoes tho. Here are some small container/small garden area recommendations for growing taters if anyone wants to try. https://savvygardening.com/7-steps-to-grow-potatoes-in-small-spaces/
www.mainegardenideas.com/how-to-grow-potatoes-in-hay-bales.html
Internet searches will reveal many innovative ways to grow taters in small spaces if interested. Also? Your states extension offices should have recommendations to your specific area and the things that work best where you live. Great resources..they also offer Master Gardener classes.
The globe is having a potato shortage.
OK, so this will help everyone cut down on carbs. Hurrah!
I am currently trying to grow sweet potatoes in an "Earth Box" container. The greenery is prospering (zone 9A ) but whether there are any sweet potatoes down in the dirt is yet to be determined. I cut a grocery store sweet potato in half, sprouted each half in a jar of water, broke the sprouts off, rooted them in more water, then planted them.
2 Things.
1-A CNN article today spoke of empty shelves in grocery stores. I have not seen shortage issues to the degree they highlighted recently, though perhaps it is because I live in a state which has not experienced winter weather issues. I am curious what you have noticed in your area. I last when shopping at Sprouts Sunday and there were a few empty spots on shelves, what I consider the new normal. I last went to a regular Grocery store on Saturday (Albertsons) and noticed major sections in the water and beverage area empty and some other spot shortage areas on other shelves throughout the store, but not like the water/beverage area and not like I have seen at other times during the pandemic.
Grocery store shelves across America are wiped clean, and they're staying empty as stores struggle to quickly restock everyday necessities such as milk, bread, meat, canned soups and cleaning products.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/11/business-food/grocery-store-shelves-empty/index.html
2- Anyone else notice a dramatic increase of bank branch closings? There were some branches of National and regional banks which were closed early on during Covid and have yet to re-open. These were supposed to be temporary closures. Recently even more branches have closed. Branches in grocery stores are closing and branches located within a few miles of another same branch. They say the current ones are due to labor/staffing issues. How are banks doing in your area?
Additionally my local pharmacy ( Walgreens) has not only shortened hours, they have also stopped pharmacy hours all together on weekends. It has been "temporary" for at least 2 months now.
What are you guys noticing?
@lovendures, I have noticed some shortages from time to time. I live in Northern Virginia, part of the large DC Metropolitan area. I visited Whole Foods this morning and was surprised by the empty shelves I saw, specifically canned goods. I needed beans and the shelves were wiped clean, except for a few cans of black beans remaining. (Maybe people have been making chili because it's been so frigid here?)
What I have noticed with our local pharmacy is that they are very short-staffed. They're hiring but I've been told that they can't find people. It's almost impossible to call and have them answer the phone -- I've tried a few times and the phone rings and rings. Had to go there to refill a prescription, rather than being able to call it in. Their turnaround time for prescriptions can sometimes take over 24 hours, unless you stay at the pharmacy, say that you need it immediately, and wait for it.
I'm being extra kind and courteous to all of those workers who are picking up the slack. I might be inconvenienced at times, but so what? These service workers are bearing the brunt of some customers' frustrations. It's misplaced anger, and these workers don't deserve it.
Hi, I don’t know the banking system in USA but here in Australia because of Covid, it has speeded up. We have become very contactless payment for things, we tap and go with our debit or credit cards. If the transaction is under $100 that’s all you need to do if it is over you also require a PIN number. Cheques are no longer used. You pay an account by Bpay or online direct bank transfer and it will be in their account straight away. Cash is hardly used anymore and as well as banks disappearing so are ATMs. It had started happening pre pandemic but has really sped up since. No one wanted to touch cash and with tap and go you don’t have to. Is something similar underway in USA to help explain banks going.
Regards to all
What are you guys noticing?
There seems to be no shortage of grocery items here (N. Fl) that I've noticed. Nor it difficult to obtain home COVID test kits, though the amount one can purchase at a time is limited.
Labor shortages seem to be the main issue. We were just given a "heads up" that there would likely be some delays in trash collection over the next few weeks.
I stopped at Wegmans last night and noticed that the soup aisle was very spare, particularly the Progresso soups (which were on "sale" for $1.69 !). They were out of a lot of popular flavors (the Italian Wedding, Chickarina, and some others). In fact, the stockists put in two full shelves of Campbell's Chunky Soup under the Progresso. There were some other large empty spaces between these soups. I guess I could make my own soup from scratch but I like to purchase canned soup to bring to work for lunch.
I did not notice any shortage of water/beverages nor tuna etc. For some items, I don't know if it is a purposeful-- Wegmans does not feature a wide choice of brands. They typically will have their store brand and maybe 2-3 others for popular grocery items. I should check out other stores to compare (like Price Chopper).
- @lovendures I am finding the same with banks and at times drug stores. There’s less people to staff them. We’ve had 2 appointments cancelled at our eye doctor due to the staff being in quarantine. Car service appointments were canceled. I’m in NJ and it seems every day someone else tests positive. I’m hoping we get through this spike in a few weeks. Oh cream cheese is hard to find. I still do online ordering so I’m not in the store much. Can’t wait for spring.
What are you guys noticing?
We used to have 4 branches (3 buildings and one grocery store) of one bank in our town. Pre-Covid, they closed two of those branches and left the grocery store branch and the primary building. Now the grocery store branch is gone. This bank (Huntington) however has done more than any other bank I've ever had to stay current and I can accomplish everything I need to go into a branch office for within the mobile app so it doesn't matter much to me.
As for grocery shortages - I primarily shop at Aldi and they stock only one or two brands of their groceries - I'm not certain if they're getting hit with shortages and hiding it with other boxes of other products or not, but everything I've wanted has been there. I haven't even noticed much of a difference in prices.
Okay, here are some shortages we are experiencing: concrete (for our son’s 1,000 sq.ft. remodel from hell-don’t ask); our new kn95 masks from Amazon are now officially presumed lost; no one can find at home Covid tests locally and our test order from Amazon is delayed; and I had a hard time tracking down ladyfingers for a Christmas tiramisu.
Other observations: there are staffing shortages everywhere and now many employees at out sick. I can only imagine how this is affecting the supply chain. Our local Post Office has limited hours-4 hours per day because of employees on sick leave.
Here’s an informal survey about shortages from Twitter. The comments are gold. https://twitter.com/tobymorton/status/1481496823093211144?s=21
I've been noticing produce either not on the shelves or old. Ironically, I live in Idaho and it's hard to find good potatoes! Stores are spreading out the bread aisles so they look fairly full, but when you take a close look there are fewer brands than normal, and white bread is far easier to find than whole wheat. I don't eat much meat at all but the meat cases seem to have less and less, not to mention the actual staffing in any store seems to be decreased, probably because under 50% of Idahoans are fully vaccinated.
@practicalnihilist In north FL we haven't had significant shortages of anything, at least not that I've noticed. I read your post about shopping at your local Publix this morning just before I went to Publix myself. So I made a point of checking out the banana and lettuce situation. There was plenty of both. And although there's supposed to be a potato shortage, potatoes of many varieties were abundant. I did notice a few vacant spots on the shelves--- for instance they were all out of Frosted Rice Krispies and a couple other types of sugared cereal, which I would never buy anyway). ANd the milk cooler had more empty space than usual but there was still a very good supply.
I don't know why the shortage situation isn't happening here when it's happening one state away. If I didn't know there were supposed to be shortages, I'd never know by just going to the grocery store. It's even possible to buy COVID tests.
Shortages!
They are back !
I recently saw a post on social media about shelves being bare again and with that a lot of decisiveness ensuing in the comment area. Many people blaming Biden for the problem.
Honestly, I have yet to see a time when shelves have been fully stocked since covid began. Especially in regular grocery stores. It has never been fully back to normal but it isn't as bad as it had been with the early Covid times and during those horrible container shipping issues times. Perhaps where I shop mostly, stores are just managing better? ( That would be Sprouts and Trader Joes. Maybe it is a regional thing?
I do expect it to get worse with container issues in China currently causing huge delays due to lockdowns again and of course dramatic fuel increases and such. High prices are going to continue to be a big issue. This isn't a U.S. thing, it is a global thing.
We have China issues, gas issues and Ukraine/Russia issues which are driving the shortages and high prices.
Mean wheat, corn, sunflower, grains and barley are going to become higher priced and harder to find globally because of the Ukraine war. That would also mean animals which consume grains are going to cost much more to feed, especially since wheat prices have gone up I the U.S. because of drought in the U.S. plains.
Additionally, palm oil shipments out of Indonesia have been banned which means many other food items are going to be effected as well. With palm oil think bread, ice cream, chocolate, crackers and cookies.
The positive news is that in the U.S., there will not be a true food shortage. There will likely be things that are high priced and appear less on the shelves, but there will be alternatives as well. Other countries may face true shortages.
I believe we all will need to adjust our reality to what is normal regarding food and supplies right. now. Covid shortages may have been a warm up to how life will be in the foreseeable future. Plan ahead when you can and shift your thoughts on meal planning in general. Find alternatives when possible. Be creative when you can also.
Lastly, gratitude may go a long way in how we maneuver through a changed word. Have food to eat? Be grateful. Cook what you actually want to eat? That is an added bonus. Able to prepare a delicious meal with exciting ingredients? That is a beautiful blessing. The more you count your blessings, the more blessed your life becomes right?
I am stating this mostly for my own benefit and as reminder to myself to keep this mindset front and center. The more often I can approach food and needed/wanted supplies like this in general, the better for my mental health and daily well-being. If it also helps any of you, that is an additional blessing.
https://www.eatthis.com/news-grocery-shortages-that-could-happen-this-summer/
@lovendures the shortages that concern me the most are the ones of cat food (7 cats... they keep showing up here in need) and dog food not so worrisome I have to cook for my 17 year old pup. Then there's the 2 goats. With grain shortages less ingredients to make their food. I garden and forage to feed us hoomans, and stores of dried beans and rice and freeze dried veggies and flour etc.... we'll do ok. But .. yeah... can't run out of cat food!!!
No, cat food is very important for cat owners as dog food would be for dog owners.
Goats eat just about anything right? But what type of feed to they consume if not foraging in a hillside clearing brush which I hear helps drought stricken states clear dry brush.
@journeywithme2 Interesting that you mention this, because for the last six months or so, we've had a lot of difficulty getting the wet cat food we normally buy. It's even out of stock on Amazon a lot of times, or is delayed in shipping. I still haven't figured out the logic of that.