# Food shortages that don't make sense **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 13, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213 "2020-07-13T13:14:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/241 "2020-09-21T15:16:02Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Pasta is basically flour and water. There aren’t shortages of either of those. But if there’s a spike in demand for pasta, it’s certain to be mostly elbow and spaghetti. Which could lead to factories making those shapes to the exclusion of the less-popular alternatives. So even though there may not be a shortage of pasta there might be a shortage of radiatore. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/242 "2020-09-21T15:21:05Z")
For several months my favorite pasta, which usually is sold in more than a dozen shapes, was literally only available in three shapes. The same three shapes in multiple stores, over multiple weeks. And ample supplies of those three shapes. They have more, now. But I have to believe they shut down some of their production lines. I’m only speculating as to why, but I’m pretty sure they restricted something. Similarly, i saw lots of canned soup, but many fewer varieties than usual. I also couldn’t find peanut oil (my default cooking oil) for a few months. But maybe there were disruptions in the peanut supply chain or something. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/243 "2020-09-21T20:47:20Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > A worker shortage, i assume. I’ll buy that. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/244 "2020-09-22T11:41:15Z")
I was wondering why short grain white rice (sushi rice) was in short supply. The rice section of Giant Eagle had every rice imaginable, jasmine, wild, brown, etc, but no sushi rice. Then I went to find oyster sauce. It wasn’t with all the other sauces (barbecue, mayo blends, pepper sauce). So, no sushi rice _and_ no oyster sauce? Turns out both are in the “ethnic aisle”, along with refried beans, jalapeños, and British marmalade. What The Fück, Giant Eagle? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/245 "2020-09-22T13:13:39Z")
^^ Luckily the oyster sauce wasn’t at the seafood counter. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/246 "2020-09-22T14:41:36Z")
More likely it’s that more people are buying pasta for home so they need to make more. The same machines make all of the shapes and they have to be changed over to make a different shape. During the changeover time, they are not making product. It’s more efficient to make fewer variants to keep up production. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/247 "2020-09-24T01:07:37Z")
Still no **Hot Pockets** available at the local Walmart, with the exception of a couple of beat-up smashed boxes that nobody clearly wants to f@!$ with. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/248 "2020-09-24T01:26:57Z")
No Hot Pockets, Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup, shredded Colby Jack/Cheddar cheese at WalMart today. Limited to one 6 roll unit of TP. However, the Limited Edition Maple Creme Oreos are to die for! Get ‘em while you can. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/249 "2020-09-24T01:30:38Z")
So when I was in Walmart I figured out a secret… Buy all the Hot Pockets I can fit in my freezer. Then smash up a few of the remaining boxes and stuff those all the way to the back on the top shelf of the freezer case. Come back in a few days and buy those after I have made more room in my freezer. The boxes I smashed up are always still there since no one else wants to buy them 🤪 More seriously, why can’t I find Wyler’s lemonade drink mix packets? Seem to always be out of them at my local Walmart. Lemonade is their featured flavor, so I would think they would focus on producing that before the other flavors like a berry lemonade or something. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/250 "2020-09-24T01:58:34Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > So when I was in Walmart I figured out a secret… Buy all the Hot Pockets I can fit in my freezer. That would be “approximately zero” at my local Wal-Mart. I was just there tonight, and took note of that shelf with this particular thread in mind. Must be a western lakeshore Michigan thang. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/251 "2020-09-24T02:26:58Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Must be a western lakeshore Michigan thang. Nah. Happening in boring old Nebraska too and there ain’t no lakeshores i sight. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/252 "2020-09-24T03:20:14Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > More seriously, why can’t I find Wyler’s lemonade drink mix packets? Have you tried Dollar Tree? And/or Dollar General? I’ve definitely seen Wyler’s lemonade at Dollar Tree within the past month ([and they’ll ship it to you](https://www.dollartree.com/search/go?w=Wyler%E2%80%99s%20lemonade) if you buy cases of twelve boxes), and I think it was also at Dollar General a bit ago when I finally figured out they’re the place I bought Tang Zero packets- they definitely [do stock it](https://www.dollargeneral.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Wylers). Walgreens also carries a lot of these single serve drink packets, and their website mentions [Wyler’s lemonade](https://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=Wyler%E2%80%99s%20lemonade) specifically. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2020, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/253 "2020-09-24T03:41:04Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Maple Creme Oreos Mmm, that sounds delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2020, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/254 "2020-09-25T07:38:11Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Have you tried Dollar Tree? Score! OK, I ordered for store pickup. Three cases - 36 boxes - 360 packets of lemony goodness! Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/255 "2020-09-25T08:05:05Z")
There aren’t any shortages in any of my local grocery stores or supermarkets but I have noticed all ramen noodles are either beef, chicken, or “oriental” flavors. They don’t seem to be stocking any of the slightly more obscure flavors like Chili, Creamy Chicken, or Pork. Is this because the manufacturers are focusing on “core flavors” for increased production or is it because people are immediately snapping those more obscure flavors up? Haven’t had a pork noodle since January. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/256 "2020-09-25T11:37:58Z")
I always have trouble finding pork ramen in my area. Only one of my usual grocery stores reliably carries it. Oddly enough, this is a chain with multiple locations in the area, and only one of those locations usually has it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/257 "2020-09-26T00:59:32Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Oddly enough, this is a chain with multiple locations in the area, and only one of those locations usually has it. Is that odd, though? I figured out a couple of years ago that the Walmart in Portsmouth, NH is the only store in reasonable driving distance, Walmart or otherwise, that sells Rice Krispies Treats cereal. None of the other Walmarts do, not even the ones in Somersworth and Newington that are only a few miles away from it, and I wasn’t sure they even sold it anymore until I found it there. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/258 "2020-09-26T07:00:55Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > However, the Limited Edition Maple Creme Oreos are to die for! Get ‘em while you can. I went to Vons this morning. Plenty of paper towels, TP, all purpose flour, bleach, soup, rice, noodles and every other damn thing that was in short supply at the front end of the pandemic. They also had myriad types of Oreos but not Limited Edition Maple Cream Oreos nor had anyone even heard of them and now I am pissed off. I would have been perfectly happy never to have heard of them and now my week is ruined. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2020, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/259 "2020-09-26T09:24:22Z")
WalMart was where I found the Maple Creme Oreos. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/260 "2020-09-28T04:23:53Z")
Two items I bought regularly that totally disappeared from the shelves my local Jewel at the beginning of the COVID situation are 10 lb. bags of carrots and Campbell’s Chunky Jazzy Jambalaya soup. (Before that, very occasionally these items were sold out.) The soup finally returned to the shelves a couple of weeks ago. The carrots are still missing. I can understand hoarding the soup. For carrots, I know there are ways to store them without refrigeration. But are that many people scared enough to do this for months? Not a food, but tub and tile cleaner is also totally missing. Did the companies change production to disinfectant wipes and liquids? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213.md?page=14)