# So what shortages are you personally seeing? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 24, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268 "2020-07-24T23:28:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 61
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1201 "2022-02-15T17:57:45Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Kellogg’s Bran Flakes are kinda an imperative cereal component with this hombre. > Nowhere. None - anywhere. > Might as well just end it all now. Well, um, shit! (sorry, HAD to!). Can you get Kellogg’s Raisin Bran and just avoid the raisins? Putting the boxful in a big container and shaking it up and down for a few minutes should result in most of the raisins at the bottom, and most of the flakes at the top. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1202 "2022-02-16T21:31:21Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Putting the boxful in a big container and shaking it up and down for a few minutes should result in most of the raisins at the bottom, and most of the flakes at the top. Cool idea, except, the more the flakes are shaken, the more they’ll become more like crumbs. 😢 😰 😭 ETA: Just found out the Kelloggs workers had been on strike for three months, ending Dec. 21. Also Rice Krispies affected. That, along with supply chain issues for ingredients, as well as both a shortage and price increase of cardboard and wax paper, all contribute to the absence. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1203 "2022-02-17T00:15:08Z")
Interestingly enough, that wouldn’t work: > **[Why don’t the raisins in Raisin Bran all wind up at the bottom of the box?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341847/why-don-t-the-raisins-in-raisin-bran-all-wind-up-at-the-bottom-of-the-box)** ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1204 "2022-02-17T00:32:37Z")
Hah - I imagine that if one were to shake that box of raisin bran long enough, you would indeed wind up with a box full of crushed bran flakes, with raisins floating on top. Presumably they aren’t shaken that much in normal transit. End result: @Guest-starring_Id gets his bowl of pure bran, with the pesky raisins somewhat easily removed. Of course the texture would suffer somewhat, but the dietary effect would still ensue. The “mixed nuts” tale in the linked article was something that made major news in the Physics community in the late 1980s, when my husband was still in grad school - as in, a paper published in a fairly prestigious journal. Not long after that, we had a party at our place, which was attended by a bunch of grad students and professors. One of the professors grabbed the bowl of mixed nuts we had put out and proceeded to duplicate the experiment. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1205 "2022-02-17T01:10:21Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > California’s requirement that eggs in markets come from cage free chickens has pretty well done away with eggs in the stores. Huh. Not around here - anecdotally I’ve seen no real shortage. But then cage-free eggs have always been readily available in SF Bay Area grocery stores and they are what I’m used to buying. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2022, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1206 "2022-02-17T12:53:41Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Can you get Kellogg’s Raisin Bran and just avoid the raisins? Putting the boxful in a big container and shaking it up and down for a few minutes should result in most of the raisins at the bottom, and most of the flakes at the top. I immediately thought of “winnowing” the cereal in front of an electric fan, with a clean sheet put down to catch the flakes. Or, if you are reasonably handy: Which STILL leaves the problem of what to do with the raisins. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1207 "2022-02-17T15:13:11Z")
Toss the raisins out for the birds? Was at Wal-Mart last night for a few things, most importantly, gallon jugs of drinking water. NOPE! [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/eeGmM00.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/4OImlW2) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1208 "2022-02-17T19:37:53Z")
I went to the grocery store last night: first “full grocery run” (as opposed to “dashing in for a couple of things”) in nearly 2 years. At 10:30 PM. The place was a graveyard - I think I’ll do it that way from now on. Water: they had it, but not the greatest selection. Gallon jugs were mostly of a “Nursery” brand (which was, as far as I could tell, filtered water with minerals added). No distilled water at all - we may have to break into our last 2 jugs that we keep hidden away. Saltine crackers were utterly nonexistent. Not “picked over” (like the last time we went, at a different location). Not “store brand only”. Not “unsalted tops only”. There were none, of any brand or type. They did have a few boxes of oyster crackers, which I got - to keep around for when someone has a troublesome tummy. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1209 "2022-02-17T20:08:27Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Saltine crackers were utterly nonexistent. Not “picked over” (like the last time we went, at a different location). Not “store brand only”. Not “unsalted tops only”. There were none, of any brand or type. Me too, shopping last night in Capitola CA ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1210 "2022-02-17T20:52:26Z")
Interesting Consumer Reports article on the shortages, the variety of causes, and how to deal with it. > **[12 Tactics to Deal With Shortages and Unpredictability at the Grocery Store -...](https://www.consumerreports.org/grocery-stores-supermarkets/how-to-deal-with-grocery-store-shortages-a1090359128/)** > > Consumer Reports explains how to find your favorite grocery products —and why they're still missing from many store shelves. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOldKJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GoodOldKJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOldKJ)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1211 "2022-02-17T22:35:39Z")
Our Walmart has finally been affected by the bottled water shortage. Completely out of gallons of all varieties last night when I was there. They were also almost completely out of Gatorade in anything other than the largest bottles. Powerade was still well stocked. The deli looked a lot better than my last trip there. As expected cat food was non-existent. ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1212 "2022-02-18T00:54:57Z")
We could not find any plain Vaseline, nor the store brand equivalent, at two stores. One store had a Vaseline marked for babies, which I thought might be scented. I did find and purchase store brand Vaseline with cocoa butter. Good enough. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1213 "2022-02-18T01:30:46Z")
My sister managed to find me several varieties of canned cat food online; but most of the varieties of the one they like best were out of stock. ---
**Author:** ![billy-jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@billy-jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billy-jack)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1214 "2022-02-18T02:53:08Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I went to the grocery store last night: first “full grocery run” (as opposed to “dashing in for a couple of things”) in nearly 2 years. At 10:30 PM. The place was a graveyard - I think I’ll do it that way from now on. The grocery store in my town closes at 7 pm. I’ve seen them close earlier than that for things like high school graduation and for basketball games. For that matter, I went to the only pharmacy in the county on Monday in the next down over for an antibiotic and found that they had closed at 3 pm for a high school girl’s basketball game. Anyway, the local grocery store did run out of wagyu ground beef a couple of weeks ago but they had some in stock late last week. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1215 "2022-02-18T04:06:21Z")
This is Walmart’s catfood aisle yesterday [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/JUhIJVdIhEvXZ1Z17t_TOeIt9Mi8D-pIAWZ9h-WvO3WtlGGEPv-ZK9aWtmuz95rni2JHVWzbThG3d3aMozZ49Ltz9RmA51nEuBDxpXM4Mfu3t1caWvyEzqnhbrLuI9TL1WLueyxodg=w600-h315-p-k "New item by theevilwriter") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/qffEZdCv76kgMZu76) Target’s, Market Basket’s, and Shaws’ look almost identical. It’s hard to believe it’s gotten worse after nearly a year rather than better ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1216 "2022-02-18T18:12:59Z")
My daughter likes Mr. Pibb. I last bought a 12 pack back in December or maybe before. I’ve seen all of one pack since then and that was the other day. I’ve looked all over my area, where my SO lives, and in Myrtle Beach when I was there and saw none. I’m having a hard time finding out of there is a shortage or if they have stopped making it. There’s a shortage of distilled water around me, or at least was. A friend uses it in her humidifier and hasn’t been able to find any in a month or so. I haven’t seen any lately either. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1217 "2022-02-18T18:32:27Z")
> [@GoodOldKJ](#): > > They were also almost completely out of Gatorade in anything other than the largest bottles. Powerade was still well stocked. I found the opposite: no 64-oz bottles to be found, but there was a (sparse) selection of smaller ones. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1218 "2022-02-19T00:02:10Z")
Those empty cat food aisles are scary/sad. A large amount of the population are pet owners and a good many of them have cats. Cats chose to move in with humans because we make tasty garbage, but also had to learn to not eat anything they thought was iffy lest it make them sick or dead. Generations of living that way has made most cats very picky eaters. I could easily see myself desperately driving from store to store looking for the one food my cat would eat if I had one that picky. We haven’t had a complete Chewy order in longer than we can remember. Happily for us our cats aren’t horrible picky. I"m having problems finding cheese making cultures, and still haven’t seen any cultured buttermilk on the shelves. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2022, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1219 "2022-02-19T00:43:18Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > I"m having problems finding cheese making cultures, and still haven’t seen any cultured buttermilk on the shelves. The buttermilk problem must be regional because that’s one thing I haven’t had any trouble at all getting here. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1220 "2022-02-19T00:46:37Z")
Most of the shortages seem to be semi-regional. I haven’t seen any empty cat food shelves, but kitty treats are limited in selection. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268.md?page=60) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268.md?page=62)