# 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:** 4
**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, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/61 "2020-07-17T04:07:17Z")
The in-store butchers are weird where I am. I asked that a piece of beef be run thru their tenderizer to make chicken fried steak. Nope. They cannot open any packages of meat. And they tell me they cannot get bone-in chicken breast. ---
**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 17, 2020, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/62 "2020-07-17T04:41:08Z")
> [@susan](#): > > 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. I am in the market for one. What did you choose? ---
**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:** [July 17, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/63 "2020-07-17T11:52:22Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > 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. At the start of quarantine my gf began working from home. She wanted a nice office chair like the one she used at work. She found one on Amazon for $400 and placed the order. A week later the company said they couldn’t fulfill the order. She found a similar chair and put it in her shopping cart, but minutes later when she tried to pay she was told they’d sold out. We ended up driving to Pittsburgh and getting the chair from her office. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/64 "2020-07-17T11:57:37Z")
Back in March and April, plain white rice was impossible to find. Anything from a small box of Minute Rice to 50# bags of jasmine rice were gone. Local Asian supermarkets would have lines overnight if there was even a whisper of a re-stock. Slowly, stock came back. Went to my local Asian supermarket a month ago and there were multiple sizes and types available. Went this last Sunday and gone again. They did have a couple random 2# bags, but the staple 25# and 50# bags were gone. (Ironic I pay attention to rice as it is the _one_ thing I cannot cook) Baking supplies are very hit or miss. Wheat flour is available, AP and cake flour are still difficult to find. I’ve found yeast only at small markets. Sugar is even more difficult to find, be it bagged or boxed. ---
**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 18, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/65 "2020-07-18T00:31:22Z")
My sister-in-law and my grandboss did the same thing - it was easier to go get the office chair than it was to buy one. ---
**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 18, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/66 "2020-07-18T01:14:40Z")
Thank you, SCAdian. Unfortunately is not available at the grocery store, but I do see that it is on Amazon. Is that an option, wolfpup? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/67 "2020-07-18T02:54:25Z")
Amazon Canada has Desert Trading Company salsa, but not that particular variety. It’s not that big a deal really, but thanks for looking. According to the company’s website, they have only two distributors in Ontario – Whole Foods and Pusteri’s. So perhaps my local grocery chain has stopped carrying it. Pusateri’s, incidentally, is what I refer to when I sometimes mention “my favorite little Italian boutique grocery store”. I was there just yesterday and they did indeed have Desert Pepper salsa along with many others, but not the one I was looking for. Instead I got a couple of jars of Desert Pepper corn, black bean, and red pepper salsa which ought to be pretty good. Haven’t tried it yet. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/68 "2020-07-18T04:57:50Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > 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’ve found the same with the rice cups. The orange rolls, however, have always been in short supply at odd times. This Christmas was the first after my dad passed, and my brother decided we should still have them as our traditional (since whenever they first came out) Christmas and Easter morning breakfasts…and was crushed when he couldn’t get ahold of them. And he’s an assistant manager at a grocery store! Definitely not the first time they didn’t have them over the years, though we’ve had better luck most Christmases compared to Easters. Like [SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin) I’m also having trouble finding Minute Maid lemonade. Relatively little trouble getting the cartons of the 15 calorie version, but I haven’t seen the 5 calorie cans in a donkey’s age 😐 ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/69 "2020-07-18T12:38:42Z")
My local store is limiting boxes of facial tissue to one per customer, but still has enormous packages of toilet paper and paper towels (albeit also at one per customer). So there’s a shortage – of one kind of paper.I think I’ll have to take some cardboard and make a facial tissue dispenser box - that contains a roll of toilet paper inside. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/70 "2020-07-18T12:42:16Z")
Our local GFS (Gordon Food Services - restaurant supply store) is well stocked on the large packages of yeast. So if you are short on an item, you might check whether your local restaurant supply store has it and will sell to individual customers. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/71 "2020-07-18T13:50:33Z")
Where’s my Manhattan style clam chowder? It’s the only canned soup I occasionally get cravings for. I know it’s far less popular than New England style clam chowder, but there were always a few cans available. Now I don’t see it at all in any grocery. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/72 "2020-07-18T15:43:47Z")
And the SpaghettiOs with sliced franks ! They’ve completely disappeared! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/73 "2020-07-18T16:30:23Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Distilled water. I need it for my CPAP machine, but they were completely out yet again. For some reason distilled water is often difficult to find, I’m puzzled by this. I too need it for my CPAP machine. In fact, I only buy a specific brand because other brands have a smell to them. With the exception of 1 shopping trip it’s been in stock. I usually keep 3 gallons on-hand (I also use it in the iron). ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/74 "2020-07-18T16:41:44Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > 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. What brand(s)? Around here, about the end of May, all kinds of “off-brand” hand sanitizer became available. Not to say “inferior” brands – really just more esoteric scented and unscented varieties. Stuff that would normally be more expensive than the “baseline” brands like Purell and Germ-X. What’s totally gone, and has been since early March, is Purell brand hand sanitizer. I assume all their production is going to the institutional market for the foreseeable future. I have even seen Germ-X here and there in retail outlets, but no Purell. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/75 "2020-07-18T16:44:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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). I wonder if there’s a way to mass-produce Lysol or Clorox wipes in plastic bags, like baby wipes. Some off-brand disinfectant wipes were sold this way in the recent past – and maybe some of the big manufacturers’ wipes as well. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/76 "2020-07-18T16:47:11Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Some off-brand disinfectant wipes were sold this way in the recent past – and maybe some of the big manufacturers’ wipes as well. Lysol has sold counter wipes in 15 count plastic bags for several years at the dollar store and some grocery stores, so yes, it’s definitely possible to package them that way. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/77 "2020-07-18T16:51:52Z")
Something that’s disappeared locally (New Orleans metro) is a popular brand of smoke sausage, [Smoky Hollow](https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/011cd124-54d0-4586-9d04-a7b3771ef821_1.2b3a1fb321a9c75856505bbf8759c8eb.jpeg), made by Bryan Foods in NE Mississippi. This is one of the staple brands locally, and in normal times it was plentiful. About two weeks ago, it just vanished from several of our local stores. So far as I’m aware, it’s not been an issue of an outbreak at a plant or anything like that. Other local and near-local brands of sausage are available as normal. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/78 "2020-07-18T16:54:43Z")
Paper towels are dwindling again, after coming back to about 2/3 pre-COVID levels in May and early June. I understand a punctuated paper towel shortage, but not an extended one. Gotta be diversion of manufacturing (institutional vs. retail) along with vague “supply chain” issues, I guess. Must be a thing where a 10% increase in demand makes shelves noticeably emptier. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/79 "2020-07-18T16:56:46Z")
The only thing I can’t get is isopropyl alcohol. I’m sure “somebody” is selling it somewhere. But the normal supply seems to have dried up. I’m really surprised by this as it should be one of the most readily available chemicals. I usually keep a gallon on hand spread out in different locations. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213/80 "2020-07-18T16:58:28Z")
Overall, there seems to be some problem with the supply of pork products. For over a month now the offerings of pre-packaged ham lunch meats has been either scanty or non-existent in my usual store. Tons of (non-pork) bologna, turkey, chicken, but basic ole sliced ham? Some trips there aren’t any packages at all, any size, any brand. Haven’t really notice if ‘real’ bacon and pork hot dogs supplies are varying, since I don’t buy them much, but a neighbor has griped she hasn’t been able to buy her usual brands of pork slices/steaks either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-shortages-that-dont-make-sense/915213.md?page=5)