By Rebecca Spohn
MIDLAND – A typical trip to the local grocery or department store is becoming anything but typical. Empty shelves and out-of-stock signs greet shoppers more and more with no end in sight. Many shoppers are asking if the worst is yet to come? Is this the new norm? Why is this happening?
Many parts of the US are now battling food shortages, thanks mainly to a supply chain crisis.
Susan Brubaker, a senior customer service representative with The Dow Chemical Company, spends every working moment trying to rectify problems with the supply chain. “We’re dealing with shortages of raw materials from overseas that is resulting in major delays of many of our specialty products,” Brubaker said. “Chemicals that are in everyday products. This then filters down to what you see in your local stores, or you now don’t see.” Brubaker was quick also to add, “the lack of truck drivers and carriers is also a troubling contributing factor. Even if we can secure what we need, we can’t move it.”
The supply chain problem is also affected by the tremendous demand for goods, primarily from wealthy countries where more people have been vaccinated. While, in poor countries, especially Southeastern Asia, the spread of the delta variant has forced new factory shutdowns and crippled supply chains even more.
Midland resident Emily Gregory could not believe her eyes when she recently tried to pick up an essential travel item. “I travel back and forth from Michigan to California, at least six times a year, to see my daughter and her family, and something as minor as a suitcase became a huge thing because of all these shortages. My luggage broke, so I went to the department store to buy something new, and there was none to be found. I mean, every shelf was empty. I even snapped a photo of it.”
And it’s not only milk, lettuce, or technological products, but pharmaceuticals. John Spohn, a retired City of Flint worker, is worried about his medicines.
“I suffer from COPD, emphysema, and have high blood pressure and high cholesterol,” he said. “I have to know I can get my inhalers and other medications. My wife filled my prescriptions the other day at our local drug store, and two of my medicines looked different than usual. She called and talked to the pharmacist, and he said they were the same medications, just a different color and shape because he’s getting what he can get from different manufacturers.” Spohn adds, “I’m scared about the future. What if things get so bad, I can’t get my meds at all?”
Does this mean we could become a nation of hoarders? Quite possibly, reports Bloomberg, a media group that provides detailed information about financial markets. People are starting to stockpile everything from canned goods to boxed items.
“People are hoarding,” states Adnan Durani, CEO and founder of Saffron Road, a producer of frozen and shelf-stable meals, as told to Bloomberg. “What I think you’ll see over the next six months, all prices will go higher.”
As California, home to two of America’s major container ports, the high demand faces a massive pandemic-related backlog. Retailers and manufacturers all along the supply chain are hiking prices to pass higher costs along to consumers.
According to the Consumer Price Index, released last week, prices in grocery stores are now up almost 5 percent compared to the previous year, with no end in sight.
When it comes to food shortage worries, one tip can make a real difference. Choose foods with a long shelf life. Canned goods and frozen foods are always a good choice since many can safely last for several months.
Experts agree that as far as holiday shopping goes, consumers should shop early, especially if purchased goods are mailed to loved ones.
Bottom line, with prices rising and shortages increasing, it’s easy to get discouraged, but with a bit of preplanning and a lot of patience, it can still prove to be a wonderful time of year.
