How are your supermarket shelves?

[AnneGG]

We are getting a CSA box subscription with our income taxes. It’s $350 for 10 weeks, serves 4. I feel likes that is a pretty good price? 

[prairiewindmomma]

21 minutes ago, AnneGG said:

We are getting a CSA box subscription with our income taxes. It’s $350 for 10 weeks, serves 4. I feel likes that is a pretty good price? 

Do you currently spend $35/week on produce for the types of things you will be receiving (ie—especially greens, tomatoes, and zucchini or whatever your boxes are likely to be heavy on)? Our CSAs here have photos taken weekly of the previous years’ boxes to get an idea of what is in them. Our nearest CSA has a two year wait list to join, and costs $1300 a year for weekly boxes. They are popular because they are wholly organic. It is a terrible deal financially if you are ok with conventional produce. YMMV….

[regentrude]

1 hour ago, AnneGG said:

We are getting a CSA box subscription with our income taxes. It’s $350 for 10 weeks, serves 4. I feel likes that is a pretty good price? 

Whether that is a good price depends on what is in it and how much they consider "serves 4" (does that mean dinner sides for carnivores, or all produce for plant based eaters?).
I live in a low COL area and spend more than $35 per week on conventional produce for two people. 

[itsheresomewhere]

3 hours ago, AnneGG said:

We are getting a CSA box subscription with our income taxes. It’s $350 for 10 weeks, serves 4. I feel likes that is a pretty good price? 

That can depend.  If it is a nice mixture of produce and you eat a lot of it, then it is a good deal.  If it is like the csa we left when we had weeks of lots of cabbage and little else for a “large” box that said for 6-8 people than no.  Take a look at past years and see what others say first.  

[Faith-manor]

2 hours ago, itsheresomewhere said:

That can depend.  If it is a nice mixture of produce and you eat a lot of it, then it is a good deal.  If it is like the csa we left when we had weeks of lots of cabbage and little else for a “large” box that said for 6-8 people than no.  Take a look at past years and see what others say first.  

Same. We tried that, but never got enough vegetables or variety to really make it work. We have to get more than romaine lettuce and cabbage at $35 a week. I have heard of other farms not local to us who offer a lot more, but the local one did not.

[AnneGG]

Good points. This farm uses Local Line as their platform. You can pick and choose what you want every week. I’ll have to investigate more into what exactly they offer. We definitely don’t want loads of cabbage or lettuce. 

 

[Carrie12345]

Well, my Aldi seems sadder and sadder with every trip.
Produce was fine, for the most part. Cheap white bread almost non-existent (and Walmart was out.) I like cheap white bread for French toast, and sometimes for grilled cheese.
Garbage-y snacks were low. Frozen section was creepy low.  Meats were fair. Yogurt gone. Cheese seemed fine, except cream cheese no longer exists. Pasta was super low for Aldi. Not as low as my glance at WM last week.

Prices were definitely inching up, but milk and eggs are leaping.

From my WM pick up, the system was OOS on fresh chicken breast, so I bit the bullet and ordered their giant 10lb bag of frozen.  Without adding it to my substitutions list, they gave me 5 packages of Perdue fresh chicken breasts.  I am very confused and now have to deal with packaging up a bunch of it for the freezer.
I’m not really complaining, because I wanted fresh. But they charged me $3.38/lb vs. the $2.48 I planned. I would not have gotten that much! Sheesh!

[Faith-manor]

13 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

Well, my Aldi seems sadder and sadder with every trip.
Produce was fine, for the most part. Cheap white bread almost non-existent (and Walmart was out.) I like cheap white bread for French toast, and sometimes for grilled cheese.
Garbage-y snacks were low. Frozen section was creepy low.  Meats were fair. Yogurt gone. Cheese seemed fine, except cream cheese no longer exists. Pasta was super low for Aldi. Not as low as my glance at WM last week.

Prices were definitely inching up, but milk and eggs are leaping.

From my WM pick up, the system was OOS on fresh chicken breast, so I bit the bullet and ordered their giant 10lb bag of frozen.  Without adding it to my substitutions list, they gave me 5 packages of Perdue fresh chicken breasts.  I am very confused and now have to deal with packaging up a bunch of it for the freezer.
I’m not really complaining, because I wanted fresh. But they charged me $3.38/lb vs. the $2.48 I planned. I would not have gotten that much! Sheesh!

That would be frustrating! People have budgets. They can't just have a whole lot more money added to their grocery order. Grrrr..... 😡

[Brittany1116]

Went to two large regional grocers and both were well stocked but not 2019 stocked. Pet food is most bare. Fresh meats are 50-80% capacity depending on what you want. Produce is full everywhere. Dairy is full. The random holes are in snacks like chips and cookies, or long term foods like rice or salt. 

[prairiewindmomma]

3 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

That would be frustrating! People have budgets. They can't just have a whole lot more money added to their grocery order. Grrrr..... 😡

They give you the option of declining at pickup, and then you have no chicken. It’s a catch 22. Our Walmart has been like this for a year, only the frozen stuff is $3-4/lb and the fresh is $5-7. Sometimes when we order, there is just zero chicken to buy, period. 
 

[prairiewindmomma]

We have a shelf with a week of long-lasting ready to eat foods because we are in earthquake territory and because our area is prone to ice storms that take down electrical. We clean out the shelf each spring and eat up the food and then restock. It’s eat it up time and as we empty the shelf I am struck by how some of the products have been missing from the shelves for months on end….specific soup flavors, certain tinned fruits. Others like canned tuna are very hit and miss. 
 

 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

The local Walmart and Kroger brand stores are pretty bleak. Probably 20-30% of product missing from my list…including the key stuff like 80/20 ground beef. Trader Joe’s is struggling a bit too.
 

Another regional chain in my area is doing much better. I am only missing 1-2 things from my list. Prices are better there too. 
 

 

[skimomma]

I just did my weekly shopping at our co-op.  Everything in stock and all looks normal.  The only thing on my list that they didn't have is the type of Oat Milk we like, but that has been hit or miss for years.

[thewellerman]

25 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

They give you the option of declining at pickup, and then you have no chicken. It’s a catch 22. Our Walmart has been like this for a year, only the frozen stuff is $3-4/lb and the fresh is $5-7. Sometimes when we order, there is just zero chicken to buy, period. 
 

Ours used to give you the replacement product at the original product price.  Sometimes, I would get a big box of diapers at the little box price!  It has been a while since I've gotten a huge deal like that.   Have they changed their policy?

My store has terrible produce, big gaps, and higher prices.  I can find things to feed my family, but the constant thinking through all of it is getting to me.  Sam's Club is much better, though still unpredictable.

I have a big family, and our food budget has increased by about $100 to $150 per WEEK.  So, in addition to figuring out possible meals while I'm standing in the store, I'm trying to figure out less expensive meals, and realizing that most of those require from scratch cooking during time I do not have.  It is overwhelming, and I am mostly just thankful I can afford it still. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Pre-pandemic, they would price match. At the worst of the pandemic, they did not. Now it seems to be discretionary. I have gotten a few boxes of crackers at generic price and gotten name brand product. Meat, milk, yogurt, and a few other things seem to never be price matched. $1-1.50 adjustment max seems to be the rule of thumb….

[JumpyTheFrog]

Our Aldi and the one in the next town over have been having trouble keeping frozen potato products in stock. Last night they were out of everything except for the seasoned fries (not gluten-free) and hash brown potatoes. Since most of all of their fries come from Belgium, I've been wondering if a backup at the east coast ports has been messing up their supply chain.

[73349]

We got everything on our list this week, except one specialty product (vegan mozzarella).

Prices are high, as elsewhere.

I haven't looked at Easter sections, as we buy our holiday candy online.

[TravelingChris]

 I want stupid Biden to allow the MIG29's from Poland be given to the Ukraine.  or Ook-rah-ee-na, as is correct to say.

[Carrie12345]

3 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

They give you the option of declining at pickup, and then you have no chicken. It’s a catch 22. Our Walmart has been like this for a year, only the frozen stuff is $3-4/lb and the fresh is $5-7. Sometimes when we order, there is just zero chicken to buy, period. 
 

Well, I naively never check the bags and just let them toss them in the trunk.  I can easily refuse substitutions from my phone before I get there, or even in the lot but, like I said, it wasn’t on my sub list.

[prairiewindmomma]

I just got back from the “good” store. Shelves looked full, but prices are up generally from even last week. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by prairiewindmomma

[kbutton]

The frozen section at Aldi was pretty bare today. I don't know if it's a day they usually get shipments or missing generally. We've only recently been venturing out in public to shop again. 

[Serenade]

17 hours ago, thewellerman said:

  I can find things to feed my family, but the constant thinking through all of it is getting to me. 

I feel the same way.  It's so much work now to feed my family and try to stay within budget.  And the increase in gas prices is limiting me further. I've got to think, "OK, if I go to that store for the specials, it will cost me $8 in gas. Is that worth the savings?"  We're doing OK for now, but I'm running out of things to cut. 

[4everHis]

I have been to WM and Kroger in last 3 days. Surprisingly stocked and boxes of stock everywhere. In the last 2 MTHS I've seen empty shelves, partial stock, etc. Last week they had people doing inventory at our Kroger. Could that have been why they were letting stock go down? I also told dh my theory. They are letting things be gone so when they come back we'll be so happy that we won't notice it's a smaller amount... for the same price(or more).🤨

[itsheresomewhere]

Went to Lidi’s twice this month.  Not really a fan of that store but they have great cheese prices.  They still have blocked off some of the meat area due to very little chicken, pork and beef.  The cheese section was very sparse along with the pasta section.  

[Arcadia]

Bird flu https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/wireStory/bird-flu-case-forces-killing-53-million-chickens-83537693

”DES MOINES, Iowa -- The confirmation of bird flu at another Iowa egg-laying farm will force the killing of more than 5 million chickens, state officials said Friday.

It's the second confirmed case of avian influenza in Buena Vista County, about 160 miles (257 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines, but the latest outbreak is at an operation with 5.3 million chickens. The earlier case was at a farm with about 50,000 turkeys.

The latest case confirmed by the state Department of Agriculture means nearly 12.6 million chicken and turkeys in at least eight states have been killed or will be destroyed soon.

…

The first Iowa case was identified on March 1 in a backyard flock of 42 ducks and geese in Pottawattamie County in western Iowa. Another egg-laying chicken farm with nearly 916,000 birds was reported with the virus on March 10 in Taylor County in southwest Iowa.”

[Melissa in Australia]

fruit and vegetables are officially up by 75% here and are expected to stay up for at least 6 months https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-03-21/fruit-and-vegetable-prices-increase-amid-supply-chain-woes/100926660

[Ausmumof3]

Sugar was in stock at a different store this week though only some brands. I can’t compare fruit and veg because I went to a different fruit and veg shop to usual. The prices seems mostly reasonable but somehow it added up to more than I expected. The checkout lady seemed a bit clueless and I never checked the receipt. I did have a watermelon so that might have been heavier than expected.

Pasta is ridiculously cheap here at the moment at around 90c a pack. I’m thinking of stashing a bit more in case prices go crazy. I already have a fair bit in but it’s not super hard to store. Fuel is killing me. I’m filled up twice in a week and both times close to $100. We have done loads of running. I’m trying to work out how much fuel I’m using for work at the moment so I can actually work out how much that costs. Fuel, plus extra data for my phone plus the odd resources, stickers etc for kids definitely adds up. 
 

It does sound like the shutdowns in China are likely to have an impact on those kinds of goods soon.

[Clemsondana]

I went to the regional chain last week for the first time in a bit, and husband did a quick run over the weekend to pick up something specific that he wanted.  They seem mostly well stocked with some gaps.  No saltines, but they did have Zesta or whatever the knock off brand is.  Prices are up on some things but not like people are reporting here.  I buy a particular brand of humanely raised frozen chicken, and they didn't have any raw breasts or tenders or thighs.  There were plenty of heat-and-serve nuggets/tenders and wings.  The prices on those are up, but we got several bags anyway.  Milk and eggs seem to be similar to what they have been recently.  

[prairiewindmomma]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/wheat-prices-soar-ukraine-fears-us-growers-cant-cash-2022-03-21/
 

Update on the wheat futures market…

[Melissa in Australia]

There is talk here that bread might get as high as $10 au a loaf

And leafy greens will go up by 50 to 100% by April 

I don't know how people who don't have room to garden will be able to afford to eat. 

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

There is talk here that bread might get as high as $10 au a loaf

And leafy greens will go up by 50 to 100% by April 

I don't know how people who don't have room to garden will be able to afford to eat. 

That really scares me. Michigan just upped food assistance for folks in the program $95 a month for the next three months. I am glad they did that, but I wish it was more. Folks I know that are heavily reliant on the assistance plus the food bank, which has been having trouble staying stocked, may be in some serious hurt before th big community garden is producing. There is a church, 11 miles from us, that has a two acre plot that it ploughs and irrigates. Families can sign up for a nice size garden plot for free, and the church provides seeds plus pepper and tomato seedlings. They also put in another acre with squash, sweet corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes which they give away free as they ripen, and routinely take them to the senior, subsidized retirement apartments knowing that many of the residents aren't in physical condition to garden. It is a good three months or more before anything but spring greens and strawberries will be ready.

 

[Corraleno]

I was at Costco this morning and they seemed pretty well stocked, the only thing I couldn't find was canned dog food (although it's possible it was there and I just didn't see it). It's hard to compare prices because I haven't been there in such a long time, so I don't remember what things used to cost, but the prices seemed on par with Trader Joe's, and I haven't noticed any big price increases (or stock shortages) at TJs. Gas at Costco was $4.49, but I don't drive much so probably won't need to fill up again until sometime in May.

[Carrie12345]

Not a supermarket, but Target felt *weird* yesterday.  I don’t think I’ve been there since Christmas shopping, and I was only back for tackling Easter stuff.  Most years, I’m the idiot that walks around grabbing anything that looks cute or interesting, spending way too much, and then can’t fit everything in baskets.  It’s not a trait I like, but it’s been over 20 years, so oh well.

Yesterday, I just kind of wandered and scrounged up a handful of things. Few areas looked empty, they just didn’t have much stuff. Like, there was a wall of folding chairs with one chair per hook. That’s one way to take up space!

[Ausmumof3]

11 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

There is talk here that bread might get as high as $10 au a loaf

And leafy greens will go up by 50 to 100% by April 

I don't know how people who don't have room to garden will be able to afford to eat. 

Leafy greens seem like they will be a short to medium term issue due to weather stuff? Although fuel prices will also make it harder for areas along way from growers 

Eek on the $10 loaf. We wouldn’t survive.

Might be stocking up on some more wheat from my chicken food guy!  Just have to keep the weevils out. 
 

I did notice bread and rolls had jumped to $4 today (usually $2.50) but it wasn’t my usual store.

[YaelAldrich]

You Aussies are making me nervous should our family go to Flinders on a Fulbright next year!  

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Might be stocking up on some more wheat from my chicken food guy!  Just have to keep the weevils out. 
 

 

Re: storing wheat….put a medium sized chunk of dry ice into the bottom of a plastic bucket, add wheat, hammer on a plastic lid or screw on a plastic gamma lid with an o ring attached. Either way, the lid should be tight enough that the dry ice can create an oxygen free environment, killing whatever might have been in the wheat. It will store for decades that way….

[Melissa in Australia]

9 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Leafy greens seem like they will be a short to medium term issue due to weather stuff? Although fuel prices will also make it harder for areas along way from growers 

Eek on the $10 loaf. We wouldn’t survive.

Might be stocking up on some more wheat from my chicken food guy!  Just have to keep the weevils out. 
 

I did notice bread and rolls had jumped to $4 today (usually $2.50) but it wasn’t my usual store.

the chooks don't mind the weevils 😁

Edited March 23, 2022 by Melissa in Australia

[Ausmumof3]

59 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

the chooks don't mind the weevils 😁

True! I was more thinking of it as a backup plan for us? Might chicken food guy does food mill quality wheat. Probably it’s not very realistic.

[Melissa in Australia]

14 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

True! I was more thinking of it as a backup plan for us? Might chicken food guy does food mill quality wheat. Probably it’s not very realistic.y

 dh did the same.. He put the wheat into one of those plastic barrels in the shed. I don't know how he plans to mill it if worst came to worst. I have images of us taking turns with the hand coffee grinder like Laura Ingles in the long winter 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Melissa in Australia

[Carrie12345]

I did a quick run through in Walmart and Aldi yesterday.  I had done a pick up order at Shoprite the day before, but realized I forgot 2 things, so I figured I’d use that to give the other stores in the opposite direction a looksy.

My Aldi was, for the most part, just as bad as, but not particularly worse than, it was the last time I was in there. They did have (for them) a decent variety of fresh meats. I was a little sad because they DID have chicken breasts, but I really don’t like Aldi’s chicken.  Oh well.

WM, otoh, gave me extra creepy vibes.  One of their coolers was stocked with cases of mini water bottles, whether to look full or to act as temperature control.  The milk/creamer case was super low. Multiple end caps were stocked with GV hamburger buns. Snacks that come in case boxes were turned to sit high instead of stacked.  Small (2lb maybe?) sugar bags were stocked in all sorts of places, with no 5 or 10lb bags that I noticed. Pasta sauce was “faced” along the bulk of an aisle while the limited number and varieties of pasta had a teeny tiny section. And they even made an announcement for all employees not on a register or break to zone shelves.  So they’re really pushing for a full aesthetic.
They did, however, have lots of 73% fat ground beef. Very little other fresh meat.  From a distance, lunch meats and Luncheables looked like they were back in full force, but I didn’t look closer.

“Someone I know” came across an “internal study” that is unable to be saved or shared, conducted for a “type of company” that would seek to understand current issues and future impacts in order to mitigate problems.  It was conducted late last year, before additional world issues played a bigger role.  It concluded that there would be major problems by very early next year, with no real avenues to make substantial improvements to the outcome.

Obviously it was only summarized for me, and I have nothing to offer that can be examined.  But I found it to be a pretty big deal.

[Faith-manor]

We have a problem with getting milk here. Not sure what is happening, but very few places have gallons of milk, some have half gallons, and those half gallons are near or beyond expiration. I bought a half gallon for making potato soup, split the seal and opened it (it had two days left before being post date and was fully sealed so I figured it would be fine), and bam, it was already curdled. The store would not refund my money. It is all over the county, even Wal-Mart can't get fresh milk, and most of our milk is produced and bottled nearby because this is a large dairy farm area. So my guess is that milk is sitting in tanks for a long time before being bottled, and then sitting longer waiting for transport, or something has gone wrong with refrigeration. I can't find any news articles explaining the problem, just a quick blurb that stores are having a hard time stocking milk with no explanation at all.

We also cannot buy a decent potato from any source. They are all soft, rotting, sprouting, etc. I had some baby reds that were okay, and used those for the potato soup which I ended up making with herbed chicken broth, and used a little bit of the half n half I keep for my coffee with some corn starch to thicken it. Now I can't buy more potatoes. Ds, the grad student, is home for a couple of days and wanted mashed potatoes. I ended up grabbing a Bob Evans pre-made container of microwavable mashed. His comment, "Mom, these really don't hit the spot, but many thanks for trying." Had I known about this, I would have purchased potatoes in Huntsville last week before coming back to Michigan.

I couldn't get portabella mushrooms, arugula, brussel sprouts, kale, cottage cheese, tomato paste, the brand of coffee we like, fresh salmon, chicken thighs, the potatoes, nor rice wine vinegar for hot and sour soup. I am making a grocery list to go farther afield. There is a Kroger and hour from here that I am going to make the trek to and hope for the best. We only have Wal-Mart and three small, independently owned grocery stores in this county. Beats the county north of us that has Wal-Mart and exactly only one other grocery store. That county is even larger. People drive long distances to get food, so it is very frustrating for them when the shelves aren't stocked. In square miles, the county is larger than mine though the population is half.

I get spoiled when I am in Bama. We have Kroger, Publix, Wal-Mart, Trader Joe, Whole Foods just along 231 a quick jaunt north. We can also got to Decatur if needed, or to Arab, or Hartselle, and Hartselle has a wonderful farm market. 

[prairiewindmomma]

It is super interesting how regional problems can be, isn’t it?!! We went some hours south to go hiking recently and stores looked so, so normal there and prices were so much cheaper. 

[thewellerman]

I am also noticing an issue with food quality. It seems I have to throw out at least one item after I get home.  I've started feeling pretty nervous about buying cold or frozen food because I can't tell if it has been handled properly. Many times lately, the bags of chicken are swollen tight, or the cardboard boxes are damp from condensation.  Seals are loose, items are expired.  It feels a little scary to me. 

[cjzimmer1]

What I found most interesting is how two stores in the same chain can have very different stock.  The Aldi's I shop at weekly is 10 minutes from my house.  They have had sandwich meat exactly one time since before Christmas.  On the other hand the Aldi that is 5 minutes from my house (is a slightly different direction than I normally go), has had sandwich meat every single time I've stopped.  Same goes for the Aldi in my hometown 45 minutes away.  While I don't get to those other 2 stores as often as my weekly one, both of them has consistenly been missing something that my usual Aldi has managed to stay in stock on.  So I don't think it's a case of poor ordering/managing.  It seems some stores are getting x product and other stores are getting Y product and yet others are getting Z.  Super frustrating as a customer because I don't want to run around to all the different stores to get my stuff.

I wish I could say this was the case with just Aldi but I buy most of my bread products from Kwik Trip and certain stores get these varieties of bread and others get different ones but none of them carry the full selection of bread that they used to.  I could understand it if they simply stopped offering some products but to know they are still offering everything but just spread across different locations is soo madening.

[Faith-manor]

41 minutes ago, thewellerman said:

I am also noticing an issue with food quality. It seems I have to throw out at least one item after I get home.  I've started feeling pretty nervous about buying cold or frozen food because I can't tell if it has been handled properly. Many times lately, the bags of chicken are swollen tight, or the cardboard boxes are damp from condensation.  Seals are loose, items are expired.  It feels a little scary to me. 

Same here. And if you can't use the produce you buy same day, it won't be good tomorrow. I feel like a lot of food is languishing long time periods before finally making it to the stores.

[Carrie12345]

1 minute ago, Faith-manor said:

Same here. And if you can't use the produce you buy same day, it won't be good tomorrow. I feel like a lot of food is languishing long time periods before finally making it to the stores.

I’ve had some wonky produce, but I’ve also taken to the many TikTok tips that have been floating around, and I think that’s helped to extend some things.  Particularly delicate produce soaked in vinegar water for a few minutes, and storing things in glass containers with a damp paper towel.

I’ve got nothing for tomatoes, so we’re mostly just avoiding them.

[Faith-manor]

3 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

I’ve had some wonky produce, but I’ve also taken to the many TikTok tips that have been floating around, and I think that’s helped to extend some things.  Particularly delicate produce soaked in vinegar water for a few minutes, and storing things in glass containers with a damp paper towel.

I’ve got nothing for tomatoes, so we’re mostly just avoiding them.

I will give these things a try. I have enough quart jars around to store items.

[prairiewindmomma]

We have been keeping our tomatoes in the fridge, stem removed but stem side down. We bring them to temperature a couple of hours before we eat them, but no sooner.

We do the vinegar soak thing also. We only do wet paper towels for greens.