ECON Report food and grocery price increases/shortages here - UPDATE, new runs on the stores

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mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
The State of Florida kindly dumped a bunch of FS on me when they have doled out almost nothing all year. If it hadn't been for CV they still wouldn't have pushed that button. So anyway.............. we took a trip to the store just to get out of the house. It's a beautiful day, why not? They aren't making anyone wear gloves or masks, and most of the employees weren't either. They had everything but paper products, no TP, and it was funny that every single Ramen-type noodle was wiped out. Canned beans were low, but over in produce someone set up a pretty end display of all different types of beans and split peas, etc. I didn't get any this time, but I will next. They seemed to have most everything else -- except my fav brand of refrigerated bagels. But I got some in Bakery, which was loaded with stuff. My son saw a dollar bill on the floor; we gave it to our friend the bakery lady. I thought she was gonna cry. It must be so hard for them these days. Oh, they had no yeast. Eggs, butter, milk, meat, plenty. My son said the frozen section was pretty beat up, but still had lots of ice cream. We'll have to go see if CVS got any TP in. Oh, my son said to mention that people seem to be buying up a lot of cooking/baking pans, etc. LOL. Desperate times for the yuppies. OMG, I have to cook myself !!!
 
rafter

rafter

Since 1999
Zahra said:
It appears the masses are awakening to the thought that food shortages & depression might be in the near future!
Click to expand...
Yes they are!! I was shopping for a pressure canner and started looking about 3 weeks ago. The presto was $66 on Amazon as well as Walmart. ( ( can't afford the American canner so don't go there) Last week when I decided to go a head and order one...Amazon didn't have any...their sellers had them for $125 and Walmart's had gone up to $100. Pulled the trigger on $100 figuring at some point they will be more or not available at all. Then looked for canning book on Amazon that were available a couple weeks ago...not only used and the prices on those were going up a lot. Found a spiral one used for $18. I get my canning jars at Amish store which is cheaper than Walmart. I had a pressure canner and book, but house fire about 6 years ago took them out.
 
rafter

rafter

Since 1999
I went out this morning. This would be the first time in Walmart in about a month...... First day of state lockdown. I got to Walmart about 11, and got right in since there wasn't a line. Not a lot of cars in the parking lot. I was wearing a mask and gloves. Greeters said the carts were already wiped down, but there was spray and paper towels available to do it again if you wanted...and I wanted.

There were about 3 cases of 2-3 different brands of TP, and the ones I use were available so I grabbed one. I'm far from out, but the prepper instinct is still alive a well.

Quite a few paper towels. No trash bags to speak of, no disinfectant wipes. Very little dishwasher soap. Cleaning supplies for the most part were lean.

Lots of produce. Meat looked pretty full except for the frozen, like chicken and stuff. Freezer cases were lean. Canned goods lean. Pasta lean. No shredded cheese, butter or margarine. Lots of pallets of water. Didn't check the rest of grocery.

For the most part half the people in there had masks on. I was the only one with gloves. I remarked to the cashier that the store looked a little better. She said when she had come in that morning that there was a truck....she was glad because maybe they would have something to sell.

Then went to grocery store which is a small chain. Only went after the steak they had on sale. Someone there also counting people as they went in and out. The aisles had arrows for one way only. Only saw a couple people there with masks.
 
KMR58

KMR58

Veteran Member
Went out today - late morning - costco had everything including TP and flour. Limited one per person but they had plenty. The only thing I didn't find was yeast but I've got plenty. Just looked to see if it was back. Went to Meijer after and again, everything in stock except flour. Plenty of TP and paper towel. Looked like most stuff was stocked back up except flour and yeast. I bought mostly fresh veggies and there was plenty of that at both places. I didn't see any big holes except for yeast and flour. Most people were back to using the little carts and not the big ones, including me. Oh - and plenty of meat at both stores, too. Limit 2 per person of any one type of meat. I didn't notice any real difference in prices from two weeks ago.
 
KMR58

KMR58

Veteran Member
OH forgot this. About half the people in the stores were wearing masks but most of them were asian or dot indian. Very few white wearing them. I was not.
 
W

wintery_storm

Veteran Member
Went to Walmart Saturday night. First time in a month. Saw the carts tied together . Had to walk to the far end of the sidewalk and get in line. Aworker was coutig people going in. It was lTe evening so not many people and about half had scarfs or masks. First thing I noticed was all fruit was gone.. hubby n I then went to the frozen food aisles. Everyone was wiped out. I am lucky to be a vegetarian as that was the food no one touched. And my husband found a frozen dinner. We went back to get cheese. That t was wiped out. Lucky a worker had just come out with boxes and heard my shock. She said the store has been getting hit like that even day. That was why they shortened their hours to restock.and clean. I also noticed toilet and paper towels all gone. Ad this is a Walmart super center. The worker told me to come really early in the morning when they first open their doors ad that's when they are stocked and it is safe for the elderly. I got every thing bUT eggs. They had none. .
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
The city target in downtown Portland finally got some toilet paper restocked after at least a month of none. Pretty much everything has been thinned and restock is slow. I talked with a clerk a while back and they get supplied by truck from their main Clackamas distribution center. I'm thinking it is clackamas they can't keep stocked. One thing I did notice was they had NO 40 OZ PEANUT BUTTER JARS AT ALL. SOME JAM AND HONEY, WITH A BUNCH OF $6 organic 24 oz peanut butter.
 
A

ARS1431

Veteran Member
Went to Aldi. Store had was not crowded. An employee was counting customers as they entered. They have decals on the floor to remind people to keep their distance. There was almost no regular bread, hotdog, or hamburger buns. The pricier breads were plentiful. Almost no canned soups. They did have limits on how much you could buy. Most things were four per variety. Milk, water, flour, butter, and eggs were limited to two per person. Paper towels and toilet paper were available. Coffee was almost all gone. Some of the registers had the plexiglass barriers installed. Many people wore gloves and masks. Some had scarves.
 
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WalknTrot

Veteran Member
I was out to the grocery store and the meat store this morning after I dunno...over two weeks? For fresh green stuff, some delicacies/round-outs for Easter dinner, and a couple coils of the meat store's unbelievably delishhh Holiday Sausage that they only make at Christmas and Easter.

Got there well after the "old folks and compromised" hours, stores calm, clean, and no problems. Staff was not wearing masks/gloves, they had sneeze guards up at the cashiers and meat counter. Only one lady customer that I saw was wearing a mask over in the frozen aisle, and it looked more like a fashion statement than anything else. There's a fair share of "beautiful people" that live nearby.

In contrast, I was giggling because the one big change I've noticed is that we country mice used to have to strip down, shower and put on clean clothes BEFORE we went out. Now it's exactly the opposite. Haha.
 
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Loretta Van Riet

Loretta Van Riet

Trying to hang out with the cool kids.
Just returned from grocery shopping (Jewel, kinda like Albertsons). Not one shred of toilet paper or paper towels.
NO CLEANING goods except for a little glass cleaner.

Fresh produce and meat much improved from 2 weeks ago. About 60% of shoppers wore masks/and or gloves.

THE PLEXIGLASS barriers were REMOVED! Again, the manager announced "associates, sanitize your work stations", and my cashier cleaned the belt and card reader station.
Shoppers were courteous, and kept their distance.
 
mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
Florida:

We went out for a bit today. I had two 5.00 off CVS coupons, so we thought we'd go see if there was any TP for a change. Nope. Ended up getting a few other things and with my two coupons ended up spending $3.00 for everything. They had the plastic partitions for the clerks.

Then stopped at the grocery store so we don't have to go out for a while. They finally got got plastic partitions for their checkers. They didn't seem to be wearing masks or gloves, although customers were wearing them. This is new. Probably strangers from elsewhere, grrrrrr. Get off my lawn. LOL. Lo and behold they had some TP and paper towels finally, although you were limited to 1 pack each. That's OK, the TP is 1,000 sheet rolls. Got a 4-roll pack, and there wasn't much left. And the paper towels was a big roll. Didn't stroll around much, noticed the rice aisle was a little skimpy. So was the pasta aisle, it was practically obliterated. Only thing left just about was the really expensive pasta nobody buys. Sauce was a little low too, except again for the expensive stuff. I got out of there for $23.00.

So that's my adventure for today.
 
tno5

tno5

Senior Member
Wearing my N-95 mask today and my hand sanitizer through my belt loop. Had to go to CVS for prescriptions. Went through drive through. All pharmacists were wearing masks and gloves. Then I went to the crazy Food Lion, which was packed. They had clerks wearing gloves, face masks and full gowns sterlilizing each cart when you walked in. Very quiet inside the store. Some wearing masks and gloves, others walking around with nothing, like it was just normal. I felt so bad seeing elderly people with no protection. No paper goods or cleaning supplies still, no meat except big turkey legs and wings. The dairy aisle was like back in the old days, only one brand available. I picked up rye bread, hamburger buns, lettuce, pepsi, swiss cheese and cottage cheese to keep us stocked for another 2-3 weeks. I was so glad to get home, cleaned up everything I bought, threw out the bags, changed clothes and washed myself off, also left my shoes in the garage. I had anxiety the whole time I was out, like I had run a marathon. So glad I only have to go out every 3 weeks or so.
 
4

4RIVERS

Veteran Member
Made a pick up order from the local Kroger yesterday and about half the order had substitutions or N/A at all. Mainly different breads and produce. I allowed subs where it worked and cancelled where it didn't. Seems the stock isn't rebounding as we had hoped around here in West KY.

Today, I had to stop at 3 different groceries to get my mom's list of things she needed. I wasn't much and I got most of it at the local Food Giant. They must have gotten some produce in last night, because they were well stocked early this morning. I hit a Dollar General and WalMart looking for cleaning supplies. I found the detergent and hand soap finally, but Lysol spray was a no go, so I gave her one we had stocked up.

I'm trying to keep the basics stocked here at the house and since my Mom depends on us to get her groceries now, I'm trying to make sure she has enough on hand too, just in case something happens and we can't get there.
 
Red Baron

Red Baron

Paleo-Conservative
_______________
changed said:
Our local feed store wasn't letting anyone inside. They met you at the door, asked what you wanted, took your money and brought your items.
Click to expand...

For many stores, that may not be such a bad idea until things settle down.

It reduces risks to customers and employees and keeps the product away from throngs of possibly infected shoppers.
 
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changed

changed

Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
The Georgia governor ordered everyone to stay at home starting last Friday. You are supposed to only go out to get groceries. Many people are not following the order.
 
T

Terrwyn

Veteran Member
Got bored so thought I would try an Instacart. Placed the order at the expensive store Von's because they have the horseradish cheddar we like. The front page said delivery tomorrow and I figured they wouldn't have anything I ordered so ordered all kinds of food. 24 items. I went back in about 10 minutes to add something and the order was already being shopped. Well April fools on me because except for substituting one loaf of bread for another and one kind of hot dog buns for another they had every single item. And they delivered sooner than usual.

Also saw people were saying the other stores were uncrowded and well stocked. Walmart however is a madhouse.
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
We have a food pantry for my IRS income section 42 60 unit apartment building. It delivers bulk pinto beans from the federales, like Paul Bunyan from Nebraska, Meemur. None of the people have any idea how to deal with raw, bulk pinto beans, red beans, split peas etc. I have been keeping my eyes on it for the last decade or two, and just implemented my plan B. Plan B being to swap out all the weird pasta, assorted beans for my deep supply of ten 2 pound bags of gulf coast enriched white rice, plus 4 packages of spaghetti PLUS my regular supply of a plastic spaghetti holder, say two packages, plus another 4 pounds of white rice in another plastic container and 5 additional 2 pound packages. See this is how you prep in downtown Portland, with closing in on 40 POUNDS OF WHITE RICE, 6 SPAGHETTI PACKAGES PLUS CANS OF EVERYTHING ELSE. YEP, DOOMER DOUG IS DOING JUST FINE!
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
The federales must buy from small companies since the packages all have pictures on them and say they are from out in the boonies!
 
W

wintery_storm

Veteran Member
Doomer Doug said:
The city target in downtown Portland finally got some toilet paper restocked after at least a month of none. Pretty much everything has been thinned and restock is slow. I talked with a clerk a while back and they get supplied by truck from their main Clackamas distribution center. I'm thinking it is clackamas they can't keep stocked. One thing I did notice was they had NO 40 OZ PEANUT BUTTER JARS AT ALL. SOME JAM AND HONEY, WITH A BUNCH OF $6 organic 24 oz peanut butter.
Click to expand...
Dozen large eggs 3.99
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
wintery_storm said:
Dozen large eggs 3.99
Click to expand...
They are thin, only eggs they had were store brand market pantry. Rite aid had a sign saying egg prices were going up although they didn't have any for the last three days.
Target was also pretty much out of yogurt, eggs, cheese and fresh meat. I bought the last two pounds of hamburger.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Doc1 said:
Learning to cook beans is a very basic prepper skill. Also, if you have a grain mill, you can grind your beans for faster cooking to make bean gravies or dips.

Best
Doc
Click to expand...

I have said I’ll, I just need to find the handle, I’m not sure what happened there.
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
I also have brown rice, but I returned most of it. The white rice takes 20 minutes and the brown rice takes 40 minutes to cook.
4 to 8 oz of uncooked rice, one can of green beans, one can of carrots, some onion, diced tomatoes and a meal.
 
N

nehimama

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Aldi today. SE MI. I took my Clorox wipes with me, which were an impulse buy months ago. One employee full-time sanitizing carts. 6ft spacing marked out on sidewalk and in store. Eggs, milk available, reasonably priced, and limit 2. Flour & sugar available, limit 2. (Flour is what I was after.) Canned vegetables and fruit in good supply. limit 4. Pasta not so much. Bread pretty well stocked. Lots of frozen offerings wiped out, although I scored a pizza. Topped off my chocolate stash and my salsa stash. Very few customers in the store, and all were polite and not panicked. Cashier was good-natured and bubbly. Of course, no TP or PT. Plenty of Kleenex, though.

I don't even bother with Walmart or Meijer any more.
 
Red Baron

Red Baron

Paleo-Conservative
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In my experience, Aldi seems to make every attempt to operate in a professional manner. Especially considering only three or four employees are there on any one shift. Those employees work the cash registers and also stock and clean the store. Employees at Aldi are paid $17.00+ USD plus and managers make well over $20.00 per hour. They get full health benefits and get 8+ holidays paid. The employees there really seem to hustle. Despite this level of compensation, Aldi offers some very attractive prices on staple items without having to buy two gallons of mayonnaise or 24 can cases of Campbell tomato soup.

Home delivery at Aldi is currently running only a five hour lead time. Contrast that to Woodman's Market (mega grocer) which has suspended home delivery and pickup services until April 17.
 
Freeholder

Freeholder

This too shall pass.
Anybody else get a Kroger sale sheet weekly? I was just looking at mine since we are going to town tomorrow, and it looks like they made each item much larger than usual to keep people from noticing how few items there are. I’ve never seen so much white space in one of their flyers before!

Kathleen
 
Grouchy Granny

Grouchy Granny

Deceased
Went to the local Safeway in North Denver CO yesterday. Got there when they opened and it turns out they have now extended the senior days to Tues/Weds/Thurs. Limits on how many people are in the store and they are counting the in's and outs.

Being a senior (moments some days), I got right in, no real crowds.

No eggs, very little milk, some bread, meat was kinda ok and I splurged big time on a whole prime rib which was on sale. Cut it up and vacuum packed it, so there are now 3 really nice chunks of prime rib in the freezer (think Christmas). No TP, paper towel or Kleenex. I was hoping the hoarding would be over by now, but guess I was wrong.

So, if the farmers are dumping milk how come we can't get any? And, it's Easter - where the hell are the eggs?

Veggies were almost non-existent. I wanted some russet potatoes to make scalloped potatoes for Easter dinner and spotted a pallet of potatoes sitting in the aisle that had one bag ripped open - snagged mine!

No onions, no salad mixes except the crap with Kale (we won't eat that nasty stuff).

Supposedly the asparagus was on sale but the only thing in the bundles was the pencil thin crap which is really crap. Their in-store packaged stuff was the thicker spears so I got 2 of those.

They also "supposedly" had charcoal on sale (and we grill a lot, no matter the time of year). The aisle was wiped out but I found some on an end cap which had me shaking my head going WTF?

Supply chain has big major issues which it seems that no one but us peons is seeing.
 
M

mikeabn

Finally not a lurker!
All four Chinese restaurants in town closed. Can't get supplies. Domino's only takes phone orders no walk in.
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Here in NW MO/NE KS we are still seeing TP shortages. Milk, butter, fresh meat, bread, and eggs had been sparse or unavailable earlier, but have returned to the shelves. Canned goods picked over but available for the not too picky.
Now there's no frozen food of which to speak, nor TP. Plenty of candy & junk food, but my water was limited & pop was not fully stocked. But, my fish, and asparagus were, so I am a happy n well fed soul.
 
changed

changed

Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
I went to two different stores today in Georgia and both had toilet paper. limit one per customer.
 
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