If you’ve noticed those grocery store shelves looking a little barren lately, you’re not alone. We are experiencing an unprecedented supply chain crisis, and it’s impacting everything from the bread aisle at your local supermarket to car dealerships.
It is for this precise reason that some grocery stores are completely eliminating those deals and promotions they often run this time of year. They simply can’t keep up with the demand, and in an effort to avoid consumer stockpiling, they’re taking proactive measures to keep what few items they can on the shelves so they can spread the love (or in this case, spread the toilet paper out to more than one family in the metro area). This includes reducing or completely chucking those attractive sales we’ve all come to rely upon.
Bad news if you’re a committed coupon-clipper. And if, ya know, you need supplies to answer the age-old question, “What’s for dinner?”
Redditors are taking to the r/Shortages subreddit to post about shortages in their areas. Users report shortages in everything from sandwich supplies to Corvettes, the most concerning of which are food-related.
According to Redditors, in addition to sandwich supplies, you can expect to encounter grocery store shortages of:
- Bread
- Toilet paper (again?!)
- Pasta and sauce
- Paper towels
- Pumpkin (oh no)
- Turkey (God help us)
- Candy corn (so there’s one positive here?)
- Meat (is turkey not meat?)
- Eggs
- Cream cheese
- Alcohol (THAT’S IT, WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE)
If that’s not bad enough, this could spell disaster for the holiday shopping season. (I hope you like off-brand meat product and chicken-flavored licorice in your stockings, kids, because at this rate, that’s all that’ll be left).
So what the hell is happening?
According to Business Insider, demand for goods has increased so much over the past two years “that it’s equivalent to about 50 million new Americans joining the economy.” And the supply chain simply can’t keep up.
From worker shortages to lack of adequate infrastructure equipped to handle the demand, the supply chain is working hard but getting nowhere, and experts fear it’s going to get worse before it gets better, with 2022 seeing increased shortages and higher prices.
Yikes.
This doesn’t mean we should all run out and hoard everything that remains. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS. Seriously, you’ll only make it worse.
Instead, you may have to get creative this holiday season. Perhaps you could go with a nice lentil stew instead of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner? I don’t know, that doesn’t sound right to me either, but DESPERATE TIMES.
Additionally, consider planning ahead and purchasing holiday presents a little earlier this season. Even better? Consider going minimalist or giving the gift of experiences this year. Because honestly, do your kids really need 450 things they’ll just lose in some mysterious corner of their rooms anyway?
No. They don’t.
However you plan to weather this storm (except by hoarding; again, NO), godspeed. This pandemic is the gift that just keeps giving (or rather, taking). We’re in for another rough 12+ months.