So where the heck is the produce?!

[SparklyUnicorn]

So last night I went to the store to get some produce.  I went to 2 stores and they were extremely low on produce.  They had a few items here or there that all looked very sad and pathetic so I decided to try again today.  I figured well maybe that's typical for late Monday nights.  Although I have gone at that time before.  So I went tonight to Aldi.  Almost no produce! 

 

So strange.  I got a cucumber and a cabbage.  There was nearly nothing else and only a couple of both of those left.

 

Weird luck or is something going on?!

 

 

 

 

 

[Bambam]

Must be weird luck. We picked up a variety at Aldi's today. They had a nice selection and everything we got looked good.  I was at a different grocery store yesterday and picked up several things. I didn't notice anything different from normal.

We're in TX. 

[Onceuponatime]

Here in Virginia there was lots of produce yesterday.

[Tap]

A few ideas:

 

Weather has affected deliveries here.  There have been shortages due to supply.

Due to bad weather in our area, people have been stocking up more than usual.

It is New Years, so people have started their healthier eating resolutions, which may mean more people buying produce in the first place.

Poor weather during growing seasons over the past few years, has affected supply.

 

[Arcadia]

Did you ask when is the delivery truck coming in? Last week many supermarkets had empty or almost empty shelves. Usually there are a few supermarkets trucks that pass by my home but I didn't notice that many last week. Hubby and I were joking that the truckers were on winter break.

[gardenmom5]

Do you live in an area affected by weather

 

 

Eta. We aren't, and have a huge selection. Just not the preferred brand of eggnog. . .not in five stores that carry the brand. They had other brands. . .

Edited January 3, 2017 by gardenmom5

[SparklyUnicorn]

Do you live in an area affected by weather

 

No

 

(if you mean have we recently had bad weather)

[EKS]

We had that here too.  Produce, meat, milk, and a bunch of other stuff completely gone.

[Jean in Newcastle]

No shortages of anything here.  Occasionally there is a problem but when it is, it's an employee problem like when the butcher told me that they forgot to order chicken.  But I would have asked the cashier when they asked me "Did you find everything you needed" while going through the check-out line. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

We had that here too.  Produce, meat, milk, and a bunch of other stuff completely gone.

 

So weird.  Everyone did have meat.

 

And bacon....you'd be hearing me scream if not.  :laugh:

[gardenmom5]

No

 

(if you mean have we recently had bad weather)

I meant where you trucks are coming from, i.e. their brokers

[melbotoast]

This happened to me last night. I'm assuming it's because of the holiday.

[frugalmamatx]

Perfect storm. Start of the month {more people shop at the beginning of the month due to monthly pay / SNAP / ETC}, recent bad weather somewhere along the routes, holiday vacations and delays. ETA: Plus all the healthy eating hype from new years resolutions as well. 

 

 

The guy I am dating hauls milk for a living and has been dealing with the other end of the issue lol. 

Edited January 4, 2017 by frugalmamatx

[AK_Mom4]

Me!! Me Too!

 

I stopped by the store last night to pick up a bagged salad (don't judge me) to go with the pizza and they had none. Not a single salad in a bag. The whole case was empty.

 

So I went to get regular lettuce (desperate times!) and there was ONE HEAD. One lonely head sitting by itself in the bin and it looked like it had been around the block a few times. DH Guessed that maybe the produce truck had froze.

 

I bought popcorn instead - corn's a vegetable, right?

[cjzimmer1]

Now that you mention it the lettuce section was pretty low today.  I hadn't really given it any thought since there was plenty of other stuff but I'm sure the lettuce is the more perishable of all so it stands to reason that's where I'd notice the absence first.

[Kassia]

I just got back from the store and almost all the produce was wiped out.  No spinach, very little broccoli, bananas, peppers, carrots, etc.  The meat I wanted was low and a sale item was out of stock.  

 

 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I've been thinking lately that I need to go back to stocking up better...today, I couldn't get oranges. For the entire month of December, I could barely get frozen brussels sprouts. Sometimes there's no butter, sometimes there's no plain yogurt. I've seen empty shelves in the rice and beans section.

 

I'm in the midwest so presumably we still have food. I can usually find what I want at one of my three grocery options. But these staple items used to be very dependable on a daily (or at least weekly) basis at all stores of any size, so I have started to wonder.

 

And this is just availability. We could also talk about price.

[Insertcreativenamehere]

Our Aldi was pretty sparse yesterday ... no spinach at all! And only sweetened almond milk, not the unsweetened ...

[Rachel]

I'm guessing the New Years holiday delayed the trucks that normally deliver over the weekend.

[Guest]

Maybe it went the same place as all the Lasagna Noodles on New Year's Eve. I was going to make Lasagna so the kids could eat that while DH and I attended a wedding, but the shelves were cleared out of Lasagna Noodles, in each brand.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Maybe it went the same place as all the Lasagna Noodles on New Year's Eve. I was going to make Lasagna so the kids could eat that while DH and I attended a wedding, but the shelves were cleared out of Lasagna Noodles, in each brand.

 

See, that kind of thing. So weird! Shelf life for dried pasta is about a quarter century (give or take), so how does a normally fully-stocked grocery store run out?

[Guest]

The clementines and red grapes are here. The rest was in poor condition or sparse. I lucked out and arrived early enough to get a leaf lettuce. My garden expansion is going to save me a lot of time.

[itsheresomewhere]

Same here. Although, the cookie section was fully stocked😀.

[Selkie]

Do you live in an area affected by weather

 

 

Eta. We aren't, and have a huge selection. Just not the preferred brand of eggnog. . .not in five stores that carry the brand. They had other brands. . .

 

Weird, there's an eggnog shortage here, too. I was grocery shopping last Friday and there was a customer looking for eggnog. An employee told him that they were supposed to get a shipment but it hadn't shown up. They were also completely out of half and half and cream. 

[BarbecueMom]

All the produce is in my fridge. Or was. The amount of fruit and salad my kids put away is insane.

 

Not produce, but is anyone having trouble finding Rotel on a regular basis? Sometimes they have it, then there are weeks and weeks of no Rotel. I can find other tomato products just fine. The only thing I use it for is certain chili recipes, not often enough to keep on hand all the time. Weird.

[Debbi in Texas]

When I worked in a grocery store, we got two deliveries a week, normally. Mondays and Thursdays. If it was a holiday week, we had an option of getting our Monday truck on Sunday or just getting one delivery. We tried it both ways. I expect that since Christmas and New Year's both affect deliveries, it's just a matter of getting regular truck deliveries going again.

[Tap]

See, that kind of thing. So weird! Shelf life for dried pasta is about a quarter century (give or take), so how does a normally fully-stocked grocery store run out?

This kind of thing often happens when celebrity chefs have a dish that uses a very specific ingredient on their show or website (ie lasagna noodles).  Even things like the front page of All Recipes or popular blogs (Pioneer Woman) can affect this.   It is kinds of obvious when multiple people come in to stores looking for a very specific, but not often bought item. They haven't bought it before, so they don't know where to look and end up asking for help finding it. 

 

Another thing that affects it, is extreme coupons.  They may get a stack of coupons for $1 off a box of pasta and wipe out entire supplies of a single item/brand of items. Some couponers buy stacks of coupons on the internet, or trade with others or buy multiple news papers, so they can end up with 10+ of the same coupon.  If more than one EC comes in, there is often nothing left on the shelf. On a typical day, stores don't go through 10-20 boxes of lasagna noodles, so they don't know to pre-order them. 

 

 

 

Years ago, I ordered bread for a grocery store.  The week after Thanksgiving and Chistamas, we always doubled our cheap white bread order.  So many people, love turkey sandwiches on cheap white bread, that we had to make sure to order up. 

[redsquirrel]

It has to do with Christmas and New Years being on Sundays so lots of things didn't get delivered on their regular schedules. I went shopping yesterday, Monday, and as I expected, the shelves were bare. Most stores have their stuff delivered late Sunday to restock after the weekend.  If you want your store to be very well stocked, then shop on Tuesday. They spend Sunday and Monday restocking from the weekend, so by Tuesday everything should be at optimum levels.  I usually shop on Tuesday nights and have no problem. But this week I went late in the day on a Monday and many shelves were bare.  If you go late on a Monday, like after 8pm,  you have to pick around HUGE trolleys full of big boxes.  There are other delivery days all through the week, of course, but stores get hit hard on the weekend and need to restock quickly after that.

 

And grocery stores aren't really 'fully stocked'.  My best friend's husband is a grocery store manager, so I know far to much about them, lol.  They aren't supposed to have back stock. Keeping the back room empty and the shelves full is a major, major job of store managers. It's all about the inventory. In theory, a grocery store in an average small city or town should have enough food to last three-5 days, depending on what it is. So, they aren't supposed to have dry pasta sitting on the shelf for any longer than 5 days.  The store only makes money if stuff is moving off the shelves. If a particular brand of pasta is sitting for a week and not selling then they lose their shelf space to another better selling brand. The brands battle over inches of space and being at eye level, it's rather cut throat.  So, a good store manager knows exactly how much to order so that she has full shelves and an empty back room. Any boxes of food that are just sitting in the back waiting to for the shelf out front to be empty is money the manager wasted, as far as the district manager is concerned. They want things to be coming in on trucks, get unloaded and then put right on a shelf with just enough space.

 

And some brands aren't stocked by the store but by the brand. For example Pepperidge Farm is sort of an independent contractor in the grocery business. The stock their own products, make their own delivery etc. There are others as well. That is why sometimes you might see someone in the store who doesn't work there. They are filling their own brand's shelf space.  Because it's all about dollers per inch they are often trying to get as much space as possible...sometimes they will edge over into space that isn't theirs lol.

 

I shop in a HUGE wegmans, and sometimes I look at all that is around me and consider that it turns over every three days or so.  That is a LOT of groceries getting sold.

[Guest]

I thought it was just an issue in the Midwest, but a Central FL friend said the same.

[KungFuPanda]

I noticed no scarcity in my area. I bought produce yesterday and it was fully stocked.

[SparklyUnicorn]

It has to do with Christmas and New Years being on Sundays so lots of things didn't get delivered on their regular schedules. I went shopping yesterday, Monday, and as I expected, the shelves were bare. Most stores have their stuff delivered late Sunday to restock after the weekend.  If you want your store to be very well stocked, then shop on Tuesday. They spend Sunday and Monday restocking from the weekend, so by Tuesday everything should be at optimum levels.  I usually shop on Tuesday nights and have no problem. But this week I went late in the day on a Monday and many shelves were bare.  If you go late on a Monday, like after 8pm,  you have to pick around HUGE trolleys full of big boxes.  There are other delivery days all through the week, of course, but stores get hit hard on the weekend and need to restock quickly after that.

 

And grocery stores aren't really 'fully stocked'.  My best friend's husband is a grocery store manager, so I know far to much about them, lol.  They aren't supposed to have back stock. Keeping the back room empty and the shelves full is a major, major job of store managers. It's all about the inventory. In theory, a grocery store in an average small city or town should have enough food to last three-5 days, depending on what it is. So, they aren't supposed to have dry pasta sitting on the shelf for any longer than 5 days.  The store only makes money if stuff is moving off the shelves. If a particular brand of pasta is sitting for a week and not selling then they lose their shelf space to another better selling brand. The brands battle over inches of space and being at eye level, it's rather cut throat.  So, a good store manager knows exactly how much to order so that she has full shelves and an empty back room. Any boxes of food that are just sitting in the back waiting to for the shelf out front to be empty is money the manager wasted, as far as the district manager is concerned. They want things to be coming in on trucks, get unloaded and then put right on a shelf with just enough space.

 

And some brands aren't stocked by the store but by the brand. For example Pepperidge Farm is sort of an independent contractor in the grocery business. The stock their own products, make their own delivery etc. There are others as well. That is why sometimes you might see someone in the store who doesn't work there. They are filling their own brand's shelf space.  Because it's all about dollers per inch they are often trying to get as much space as possible...sometimes they will edge over into space that isn't theirs lol.

 

I shop in a HUGE wegmans, and sometimes I look at all that is around me and consider that it turns over every three days or so.  That is a LOT of groceries getting sold.

 

That makes sense.  Except yesterday was Tuesday.  But maybe the delivery schedule was off due to the holidays. 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

For me, that would be absolutely typical for Aldi.  I hate trying to shop at Aldi.  Mostly, I just get milk and eggs there.  Sometimes I grab some of the produce IF, and this is a big if, I can find what I am looking for and it isn't moldy. 

 

As for the other store, I would just assume it's late in the day after a holiday weekend. 

 

Yeah I have a love hate relationship with Aldi.  When they have what I'm looking for they are great.  The problem is half the time they don't. 

 

And they aren't my first choice for produce because it goes bad more quickly than from other places I shop.

[StaceyinLA]

I've noticed some stores in our area were pretty picked over. Our Trader Joe's did have a good selection yesterday though, so I was relieved. I hadn't been truly grocery shopping in over two weeks and we were getting desperate.

 

What I want that I cannot get are some good avocados. I haven't bought a really good one in months. It has to be time for there to be good ones again, right?

[SparklyUnicorn]

They had tons of avocados.  Of all things.  I never buy them myself though.

 

 

[Rachel]

Agree with Red Squirrel. Also, sometimes the ordering system can't predict what ingredients will be good sellers, particularly in a newer store where there isn't enough data regarding shopping habits of the area.

 

It sounds like if all the local stores are running low it is weather or holiday related with a possible combination of both.

[Sarah CB]

Welcome to my life. Winter is horrible for produce here in Newfoundland. The broccoli is flaccid. The cauliflower spotted with brown or black. Zucchini is wrinkled. Celery rubbery. Very sad.

[Annie G]

I live in the midwest and went shopping this morning. No fresh green beans at all. Bagged lettuces were super sad looking and many had a 50 cent off coupon attached by the store- which they do when they have too much to sell and need to clear it out fast. The sell by date was Jan 6 and even though I plan to use it tonight, it looked...awful. Ended up buying a head of lettuce instead and it was also sad looking.   

 

Bell peppers were wrinkled. Zucchini was flexible. Broccoli had started turning yellow. This was not at Walmart or Aldi, but at what's considered the best, highest price grocery store in our town. 

 

I have a lot better luck when I shop in a nearby large city- they must go through a ton of produce because I don't have this kind of problem there. But alas, it's 5 degrees out and I was unwilling to trek the 35 miles it takes to get to a city. 

[Farrar]

Our produce section looked pre-blizzard when I was there on Tuesday, but they were restocking. I assumed it was a combination of the holidays and being a high traffic store.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Welcome to my life. Winter is horrible for produce here in Newfoundland. The broccoli is flaccid. The cauliflower spotted with brown or black. Zucchini is wrinkled. Celery rubbery. Very sad.

 

Oh yeah that describes our produce in winter.  LOL

 

But they were flat out of even the pathetic stuff. 

 

I guess I just don't learn though.  I should stick to mostly frozen in winter.

[Lady Marmalade]

They had tons of avocados.  Of all things.  I never buy them myself though.

 

I just read somewhere that avocado prices are expected to fall drastically in the next few weeks due to a bumper crop.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

I just read somewhere that avocado prices are expected to fall drastically in the next few weeks due to a bumper crop.  

 

Too bad I hate them.  LOL

 

They are about 69 cents right now.

[Rachel]

Welcome to my life. Winter is horrible for produce here in Newfoundland. The broccoli is flaccid. The cauliflower spotted with brown or black. Zucchini is wrinkled. Celery rubbery. Very sad.

What do you eat then? Frozen? Canned? I would miss my fresh fruits and veggies.

[scrapbookbuzz]

For those that have Costco memberships, you might like to know this for future reference:

They have, in the frozen section, good sized bags of organic, precut broccoli and cauliflower

that is only about 10 cents more per pound than I can get it fresh locally. That extra 10 cents

is worth it to me to be prewashed and precut. Plus, you can save it for when you can't get fresh

due to weather-related issues. Hope that's helpful to someone!