# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/41 "2020-07-14T23:03:24Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > A peck, obviously Shouldn’t that be a “Beck”? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/42 "2020-07-16T14:23:09Z")
Over the last few months I’ve noticed erratic shortages of a number of things you wouldn’t expect, like canned tuna as well as the bewildering gallon jugs of water (why? why?). The continuing dearth of Lysol wipes (and other brands) is more understandable but damned annoying. You’d think the manufacturers would ramp up production to take advantage of the hugely expanded market, wouldn’t you? And yet those shelves are always bare no matter where I shop. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/43 "2020-07-16T16:45:28Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > You’d think the manufacturers would ramp up production to take advantage of the hugely expanded market, wouldn’t you? How do you know that they didn’t? What is their overall capacity? What is the ROI on buying new machinery or a new factory? Exactly how long is this going to last so that ROI can be calculated? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/44 "2020-07-16T19:51:24Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > As far as I know, all the dressing comes in sealed packets. I don’t think they have a vat of oil & vinegar in the back but I haven’t been back there to say for certain. Can’t you keep a bottle of oil and a bottle of vinegar in your kitchen? [silly, I know, but a simple solution to a simple problem for the future. Or you could go online to AMazzon or equivalent and find a brand of oil and vinegar dressing you like and get a bottle of it] > [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Tofu has been in short supply since the quarantine started here. For a month or two, I never saw it in the local “regular” (Safeway, QFC) or organic (Whole Foods, PCC) supermarkets. Since then, it’s intermittent, and the selection is poor: maybe they have silken and sprouted, but not the regular firm. I got bored once back in the mid 2000s and bought a tofu milk maker and the stuff to turn it into tofu [well, and 5 pounds of soy beans to make the soy milk with] and had a blast with it. If you don’t want to make your own tofu, you can get a tofu press and make your less than firm into firm by pressing out the excess soy whey. I think my tofu press was $10 or so on Amazon. [I like the deep fried tofu puffs, and found an air fryer recipe for them that called for the block of firm tofu to be pressed, frozen thawed and repressed to get as much whey out as possible, then coating theim very lightly with corn starch and air fryering them] ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/45 "2020-07-16T19:53:44Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Can’t you keep a bottle of oil and a bottle of vinegar in your kitchen? Oh, sure. It wasn’t an insurmountable issue, I just found it weird that the restaurant said I couldn’t have it due to Covid. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/46 "2020-07-16T20:06:00Z")
All of a sudden there is a TON of hand sanitizer at my local Kroger. Either they did ramp up production – eventually – or people stopped worrying about surfaces and stopped buying it. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/47 "2020-07-16T20:18:36Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Oh, sure. It wasn’t an insurmountable issue, I just found it weird that the restaurant said I couldn’t have it due to Covid. ah 😉 makes sense ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/48 "2020-07-16T22:17:25Z")
Caffeine-free Coke Zero has been absent from store shelves for 2 months here. You can’t even get it price-gouged on Amazon anymore. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/49 "2020-07-16T22:23:08Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > The continuing dearth of Lysol wipes (and other brands) is more understandable but damned annoying. You’d think the manufacturers would ramp up production to take advantage of the hugely expanded market, wouldn’t you? And yet those shelves are always bare no matter where I shop. I’ve read that the manufacturers of disinfectant wipes have increased their production by something like 40%. However, demand has increased by something like 500%, so this is why the shelves are still bare. [https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-clorox-wipes-are-still-so-hard-to-find-11588852801](https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-clorox-wipes-are-still-so-hard-to-find-11588852801) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/50 "2020-07-16T22:26:58Z")
I read someplace that the reason the disinfectant wipes are hard to find is a limitation on the number of canisters (the plastic tubs they come in). ---
**Author:** ![Jungian\_Camisole1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jungian_camisole1/32/3646_2.png) [@Jungian\_Camisole1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jungian_Camisole1)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/51 "2020-07-16T22:39:25Z")
**wolfpup** , which salsa is it that you’re looking for? I’m in Texas and might be able to find it for you. Why don’t we try to help each other out with what they’re missing? It could be like the shot glass exchange, but with food instead. Or a bicycle. ---
**Author:** ![dummygladhands71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dummygladhands71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dummygladhands71)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/52 "2020-07-17T01:05:07Z")
Windex. Are people washing more & more windows now they’re home? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/53 "2020-07-17T02:14:41Z")
Maybe they’re using window cleaner as a substitute surface disinfectant. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/54 "2020-07-17T02:33:45Z")
I’m not surprised by any of the food shortages any more - I have heard that here, at least, some folks swarm the stores in the early morning to grab certain items before anyone else can. Whether they are hoarding for themselves or buying those items to resell because they are out of/low on work themselves, who knows. I’ve learned to work around it. The thing that surprised me was a shortage of computer headsets. That started in March when a lot of businesses shut down and their employees started working from home. But it’s still a thing. We recently had to buy a headset for a new instructor where I work - we’d run out of loaners - and the two companies that will allow us to buy on our company dime and ship to the employee’s home had no mid-range headsets in stock. The cheap crappy under $20 ones, sure. The $100+ ones, there were a fair number of those available. But the typical $40-$50 ones we usually get, nyet. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/55 "2020-07-17T02:38:51Z")
All kinds of work-from-home technology is hard to get now. We’re not able to get mid-range headsets either, or webcams and even notebook computers were hard to get for a while. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/56 "2020-07-17T02:47:35Z")
I got a reasonably priced headset and a webcam on Amazon, but as sole proprietor-single employee, I do get to authorize my own purchases. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/57 "2020-07-17T02:53:48Z")
> [@Jungian\_Camisole1](#): > > **wolfpup** , which salsa is it that you’re looking for? I’m in Texas and might be able to find it for you. This, apparently: > [@wolfpup](#): > > “Desert Pepper” brand roasted tomato chipotle corn salsa. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/58 "2020-07-17T02:57:51Z")
Yep, that’s the thing. Places like Amazon won’t let us buy on the company card and ship to an employee’s home. That’s not always a problem but in this case it was since said employee isn’t living in the state at the moment and can’t come pick it up. ---
**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:** [July 17, 2020, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/59 "2020-07-17T03:05:10Z")
I suspect hoarder locust shelf-clearing. Take a look at prices by third-party sellers on Amazon. Ramen was in bad shape at the grocery store I went to today. Didn’t really take note of other aisles. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/60 "2020-07-17T03:14:55Z")
Single serving cups of Minute Rice. Which are an essential for leftovers. I wasn’t even being particular, I would’ve taken any of a half-dozen varieties. I had other people checking for me as well, we checked four different stores and nothing, I’m finding a lot of specific items out of stock in individual stores, that’s been going on for a while. On Father’s Day we wanted Pillsbury Orange Rolls, it’s a nostalgia thing. We had to settle for cinnamon. I couldn’t find my favorite brand of cheddar for a couple of weeks. Then I couldn’t get the Minute Maid blueberry lemonade. But the complete absence of the single serving rice cups in any variation was the one that got to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213.md?page=4)