Signs of food shortage in Virginia
Posted by Responsible_Video364@reddit | PrepperIntel | View on Reddit | 226 comments
Hey y'all. I'm a regular Costco shopper. Like, "hmm they've changed the location of this item" frequent. I remember years ago some dude posted on Reddit about surviving war in Syria and he was stateside for COVID in the canned food aisle and saw sometime else there and they made the uncomfortable eye contact of two people who knew how to prep for disaster. Anyways, I went to the aisle with the canned beans, corn, Vienna sausage, etc and it was uncharacteristically bare.
So that's a supply and consumer side shortage. Take that for what it is.
Elegant-Fisherman555@reddit
How much is shortages and how much of this is tied to interruption to supply chains and higher shipping costs I wonder? I’m sure it’s not an either or situation.
majordashes@reddit
That’s a good point. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed to shipping since February.
Normally, 100 ships move through the Strait every day. Since the war, that number has dropped to single digits on most days.
The media often focuses on oil and fertilizer shortages and supply-chain disruptions resulting from the Hormuz closing. But a lot of aluminum and plastics move through the strait as well. Food manufacturers rely heavily on plastics and aluminum. This Hormuz closing could impact the availability of canned foods or food wrapped or packaged in plastics.
Will be interesting to see if others report shortages or bare/empty shelves in their local stores.
TheProfessional9@reddit
It's our main source of aluminum after Canada routed all of its sales overseas last year
KiaRioGrl@reddit
And why did Canada do that?
Seems like there's one common denominator in all these problems, eh?
QuantitativeNonsense@reddit
We already had a helium shortage and now the closing has driven Helium prices to well over double what they were before- Qatar used to produce 1/3 the world supply from their LNG plants that were bombed.
Heliums uses are niche but essential for everything from medicine (MRI) to pharmaceuticals to fabricating AI chips.
Airgas declared force majeure a few weeks ago. Like, I can’t express enough how fucked we are because of this.
majordashes@reddit
Yes, the helium is a big issue. Great synopsis of what is going on with helium, something most of don’t think about.
And I agree with you that we are fucked. Likely in a multitude of ways which have yet to surface.
The fertilizer issue is alarming. 70% of America’s farmers report that they cannot afford fertilizer. Shortages and supply-chain problems have made fertilizer too expensive for farmers to buy. What happens when more than half of America’s farmers don’t plant? Or they plant without fertilizer and have lower crop yields?
We see stories about this but does the media address what this could mean for our food supply?
We’re focused on gas prices and what we pay at the pump. But I don’t see our country addressing how these increased fuel costs will cause further inflation. The cost to ship, fly and transport food and goods will increase.
I remember the 1970s energy crisis. Long gas lines, shortages and high prices. It was a mess. That crisis was caused by an 8% reduction to America’s oil supply after OPEC cut us off. 15-20 percent of global oil travels through Hormuz.
Do we truly understand what happens when the world is forced to operate with 15-20 percent reduction in global oil supply? Have we ever experienced anything like this?
I have many questions and I don’t believe our politicians or the media are fully addressing the multi-pronged crisis that is building due to the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Phine420@reddit
What happens? We start the long overdue and now very painful way to get rid of this shitty drug-customer lifestyle.
PeacefulLily728@reddit
If only. Remember what followed the 70s. And those people had experienced at least one war, all of them with drafts. A lot had grown up in a pre antibiotic and pre vax world.
We’re too soft to make any lasting changes. I think the majority of people will choose to literally destroy the planet rather than suffer or sacrifice.
msfuturedoc@reddit
What do you mean by shitty drug customer lifestyle?
randylush@reddit
We are addicted to guzzaline
Icy_Bicycle8698@reddit
This will probably be disjointed but I’d also like to add that frost/cold has slowed or stopped the apple production for parts of the U.S. already.. it’s May..
Early droughts in the SE have farmers saying that they won’t plant or if they do it’s only to collect on insurance (ie. They are already forecasting for low to no yields on stuff planted this year)
Midwest has had frost warnings on and off for about a month now delaying planting season as well.
And imo? We’re already seeing the affects beyond what’s available on shelves.. the produce that is there? Is extremely finicky and goes bad faster than usual. Prices at restaurants I swear are close to double. Grocery prices we all know about but it all just trickles down.
Effed
SquirrelyMcNutz@reddit
We've had some really fucked up weather. 70-80 degree days with sub-freezing night temps. Fruit trees have blossomed but have no fucking clue if the blossoms froze or got heavily impacted. Haven't had shit for rain or moisture either, so that's the cherry on top of the shit sundae.
UND_mtnman@reddit
Everytime I start leaning towards the "Stuff never happens" camp, I learn about stuff like this and makes me wonder how the fuck stuff isn't going to happen because of this.
SubstantialAbility17@reddit
Better buckle up, things are going to get wild
BetCommercial286@reddit
Don’t forget high end welding as well.
crlthrn@reddit
Oh well, brown butchers' paper served our grandparents well enough...
Wooden_Associate_289@reddit
Could also just be a general store issue. My costco was fine (east coast, but still). Theres a myraid of reasons for this to happen
queen_surly@reddit
The supply chain interruptions are the cause of shortages in a lot of cases.
miss_lady19@reddit
I also saw that people can't afford usual proteins (beef etc.) so they are purchasing a lot of canned protein.
seanrrwilkins@reddit
To the consumer it looks like shortages and bare shelves.
The real issues are all supply chain back to raw inputs like petroleum and industrial chemicals. Manufacturing facilities destroyed, shipping lanes blockaded and overall cost of production and transport going beyond reasonable so product shuts down.
Dirk_Courage@reddit
And all because "Israel" couldn't stop bombing everyone else in the region and genociding Palestinians... What a time to be alive!
kingofthesofas@reddit
I think that we don't even have evidence of an actual shortage yet to making assumptions about the cause is a bit premature.
PerceiveEternal@reddit
Add to that the supply chain effects from tariffs.
modernswitch@reddit
SoCal here. Went to one Costco on Friday and another Costco on Sunday. Everything seemed normal as far as stock was concerned. Sunday didn’t seem as crowded as I would have expected it to be, was able to easily park and very short line to checkout but it was also Mothers Day so that could explain lack of crowds.
Living-Excuse1370@reddit
What's SoCal?
---boo---@reddit
Why downvote cluelessness? They're already oblivious...
Living-Excuse1370@reddit
It's ok, they think every one is American and knows all your abbreviations. .pathetic
hahah_what@reddit
Southern California
CanadaRobin@reddit
Going to Costco on Mother’s Day is genius. Saving that idea for next year
carlitospig@reddit
All the chicken bakes a nice hungry mother could want.
MsMoreCowbell828@reddit
Birdseye veggies up to $3.50 a bag locally. I'm fixing to start buying canned goods bc a major depression is upon us.
mysecretvice@reddit
Lidl and Aldi veg are still 1.50 or less. Just season and butter them yourself.
MsMoreCowbell828@reddit
Didn't ask for an alternative product/idea.
ImpossibleVegan2022@reddit
Me too, until canned goods become a problem due to the aluminum supply issue
mjfuji@reddit
Take this how you will...but bannanas as we know them are of the Cavendish variety (species?).
There is a disease that is fatal for the plant spreading across all the Cavendish cultivated fields...and it is global... So eventually there won't be bananas as we now know them.
This has happened before...the prior dominat cultivated variety had the same happen mid 20th century (in the 50's?) (And much like what is happening to oranges in Florida). In the case of bananas another variety will likely emerge to replace the Cavendish... But still interesting and kind of sad.
This probably is not related to that..yet ..but eventually it will be happening because of the blight.
SquirrelyMcNutz@reddit
The prior cultivar was called the Gros Michel or something like that iirc. I dunno if this is true or not, but I've heard the reason 'banana' candies taste so different from actual bananas is that the flavor profile is based on the now-extinct cultivar rather than the bananas we buy in the store.
Due_Satisfaction2167@reddit
Gros Michel bananas aren’t extinct, they just aren’t commercially viable to grow at large scale. They’re still grown in small quantities stories, and you can buy some if you want.
They are fairly expensive though. ~$40/lbs.
Anyway, the candy thing is an urban myth.
pvssylips@reddit
Yes! This is my understanding too!
Inside-Drummer-646@reddit
bananas used to be so good ):
Jekkymayn@reddit
This state is wild you folks go to your grocery store a few days before they reload and think it’s a sign of the end of days.
Granted there’s a lot going on right now but why does everyone here react this way to every single thing.
Harris teeter an hour ago had more bananas than I could count and when I grabbed some canned goods every shelf was full.
I guess I should be thinking everything is fine and dandy then huh
TheDeal32@reddit
Here in north Fl our local walmart has been occasionally out of tomatoes and green peppers for the last 2 months. Those things had always been abundant year round, so it definitely catches us off guard.
CannyGardener@reddit
Another Costco anecdote to add here. Went to stock up on staples at Costco over the weekend. The butter was no longer 4 x 8 oz sticks for $13, it was 4 x 4oz sticks for $17. Now...I keep track of the butterfat market for work, and it is not up as much as a 50% volume reduction + 50% price increase. Just seems crazy. Rice was up 50%, canned goods were stocked but sparse.
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
So... Price gouging as usual. If only there were laws... If only someone had suggested price gouging bans... If only we had elected someone that promised to increase regulation over these things... If only- No. What am I thinking. No! That's communism!
AtreyuTrinity@reddit
Delivering food is going to get way more expensive once oil prices reflect the reality of the oil supply. They are heavily being manipulated at the moment. Check out the r/oil subreddit.
Disastrous-Memory474@reddit
We are already seeing the diesel prices boost rates in the transportation world. Shipping rates are 20-30% higher already. With us just now entering produce season in the US, it’s going to be ugly over the summer.
Environmental-Top862@reddit
It's the cost of diesel. A company driver in Michigan told me independents are parking their rigs until diesel comes down. EVERYTHING in this country moves by truck.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
How is this price gauging when the cost to deliver food has skyrocketed in recent weeks? There is literally an obvious cause for this that everyone knew was coming the moment this stupid war was started.
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
That's true but we saw this all through Covid. The prices! The supply chain! And then every grocery store is seeing record profits and remodeling.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
Well I agree, except we’re talking about Costco specifically here, not every other grocery store. I’m not sure what remodeling other Costcos are undergoing, but mine is still the same warehouse it was before Covid.
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
Maybe Costco didn't remodel because well, their aesthetic is "warehouse," but despite the manufactured scarcity, Covid didn't seem to slow their profits: https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/COST/costco/revenue
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
What do you mean by manufactured scarcity exactly? Are you suggesting there were no supply chain issues or heightened demand of certain items during Covid?
It’s not all price gouging when real life market forces are actually occurring. Another factor you completely ignore in your profit analysis is that businesses grow in multiple ways (not only just raising prices). Costco added over 100 new stores from 2020 to 2026. They increased their paid memberships by 57% in those same years. Those numbers directly impact profits. Price gouging is a real and legitimate issue, but we need to be able to have informed and rational discussions about it.
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
Manufactured scarcity: "oh no, stuff is so expensive for us now, we need to raise prices just to survive (then have massive quarterly profits, stock buybacks, etc, all the costs are passed on to the consumer and prices never lower when the catastrophy is over). "Where there is chaos, there is opportunity."
I'm not sure what the Costco love is about but I don't believe for a moment they're exempt from price gouging, because they say so, sorry.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
How is me pointing out the basic facts of the economics of the situation = Costco love? I feel like you’re bringing some bias to the discussion here in ignoring actual factual information. If you can’t even acknowledge the facts, how is anyone supposed to take your argument seriously? Thats literally my whole point.
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
I don't really know what your point is. That Costco is the one corporation not price gouging, I guess? Okay.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
I literally just told you my point. I don’t really know what else to tell you.
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
Okay. Welcome to Costco. We love you.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
Cool. Got any free samples?
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
Is it the supply chain? Is it the cost of fuel? Is it the price of hay? Or is it simply corporate greed? That's the problem, without oversight, without regulation, we'll never know. We'll just have to trust that Costco loves us.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
Ah, now we’re finally talking.
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
No I don't think blanket price caps were the only solution, but I don't think it matters much now. We're going to be sleeping in the bed we made for a while.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
On that we can agree.
kelleybobelly@reddit
Price gouging is typically a price change on top of an expected increase. Companies use a known issue to justify extreme price hikes. It's a gouge instead of normal supply and demand when the increase isn't proportional to the supply chain stress being experienced. This feels like a good example of that.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
How though? They have new stock shipping to their stores weekly? That cost to ship would impact their logistics network on a weekly basis as fuel costs rise, so I would not be surprised to see price changes over a week.
Sarchee@reddit
If the cost of business increased 15%, but prices increased 110%, does that seem fair or proportional?
Thats what they mean by using an increase in cost to justify a vastly disproportionate increase in price; you know costs went up (but not how much), so you don’t question the increase in prices.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
I guess you didn’t see my other comments about how more than just gas went up in cost. Feed for cattle has doubled, oil price increases impact plastics, aluminum is impacted by the straight being closed, trade wars have impacted supply chains and pricing, the list goes on. The media only likes to focus on oil right now, but there are many other costs along every stop of the whole supply chain that are currently rising quite quickly.
CaptCurmudgeon@reddit
Because freight might surge 20% but that's only a small fraction of the overall cost of goods sold. So if you're seeing 50%+ increases, it is due to other issues. The store's overhead, management, labor, etc. are not supposed to be affected.
It's likely that dairy products are traded as commodities and the product prices also increased which caused a shock to supply. I've heard hay prices jumped tremendously in price, for example. So the input for the cow to produce a gallon of milk increased because the weather has brought drought and the diesel to transport the hay to the dairy is more expensive.
I'm a senior supply chain analyst for a billion dollar US manufacturer and I have to trace hundreds of thousands of SKUs impact from producer price indices and tariffs.
Tl;dr it's complicated and ripples when dealing with geopolitics.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
Yeah I was considering bringing up rising costs of feed earlier too (literally doubling in areas out west), but packaging and shipping material costs are also rising as well. With oil prices increasing, we also get an impact on plastics production. Aluminum is impacted by current trade re-alignments and the closing of the Hormuz Straight as well. The list goes on. I guess I’m really not surprised to see rising prices here right now. It seems like an obvious resultant from the conditions at play.
syynapt1k@reddit
It's not price gouging yet, but these prices are not likely to come back down. At least not to what they were.
Livid_Roof5193@reddit
We’re talking about Costco specifically, and it really depends on the product. Costco has an average profit limit of 15% on their Kirkland brand stuffs (other brands do differ on that though). So if their cost of business drops on Kirkland item then in theory the price would drop back, or, if they were taking less than that average profit when costs raised, it’s possible they would keep it the same and take more profit as costs drop to make up for lesser profit when costs rose.
I’m not saying price gouging doesn’t happen (and also not saying that it doesn’t ever happen at Costco), but right now I don’t see how that claim has a whole lot of merit here. Future hypotheticals don’t make the point now.
youritalianjob@reddit
You do realize Costco caps their markups at 14-15% (national brand and Kirkland brand respectively)? They aren’t price gouging.
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
Ok, fine, they're just selling half the butter at a higher price than before. Everyone else is price gouging.
katbyte@reddit
Costco strictly limits its profit on selling items as it makes it money from memberships.
F0xtr0tUnif0rm@reddit
I know Costco is supposed to be "one of the good ones" but I'm not sure I believe in the virtue of any massive corporation. But even still, if what that person said is true, perhaps shrinkflation is a way around their "ethics."
threespruces68@reddit
Not a Costco shopper, so bear with me. Boxes of butter in the regular grocery are usually sold by the pound, and the price is $3.79 or $.24/ounce. When you write 4 x 4 oz. sticks, that reads as a pound of butter to me, which would make the price beyond ridiculous and more than four times as expensive as what I'm paying at the supermarket. What am I missing?
Salty-Passenger-4801@reddit
Yeah I have no idea about the other posters but I just had a Costco run 2 days ago, and bought 2 lbs of butter (premium butter) and it was $13. I think a non premium butter was $8 for 2 lbs there.
threespruces68@reddit
Which would still be more expensive than the price per pound I paid two days ago at my local supermarket for regular unsalted butter. Wild!
Oversdub@reddit
You sure thats butter and not canola oil being sold as butter
threespruces68@reddit
Yes, it's authentic unsalted butter. The price typically runs between $2.99 and $4.99 per pound, depending on the time of year. Imported butter is more expensive.
ummmwhaaa@reddit
I paid $6.99 for 2lbs butter at Safeway this week.
GreatDanish4534@reddit
As an American, I have never seen butter available by the pound. 4 8oz sticks in a cardboard container.
NorthernTransplant94@reddit
Also as an American, what in the world are you talking about? Standard American butter is sold in 4oz sticks. Usually by the pound.
I'm still harassing my husband about buying a half pound (2 sticks in a cardboard box) last month, because who doesn't buy the square one pound box?
GreatDanish4534@reddit
It was early and I typed ounces instead of tablespoons. Sorry I upset you.
NorthernTransplant94@reddit
Not upset, just confused.
threespruces68@reddit
Each stick of American butter in a pound box is 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons, whether they are the long, thin sticks you see in the east or the short, fat sticks you find in west. I was surprised to see there was a difference in shape when I lived in California after growing up in the Midwest, but the quantity of each stick was the same at 8 tablespoons.
threespruces68@reddit
Each stick of American butter in a pound box is 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons, whether they are the long, thin sticks you see in the east or the short, fat sticks you find in west. I was surprised to see a difference in shape when I lived in California after growing up in the Midwest, but the quantity of each stick was the same at 8 tablespoons.
Pontiacsentinel@reddit
$2.84 at Aldi recently.
threespruces68@reddit
I'm jealous. I live in one of the few places in the country without Aldi's.
Traviscsd@reddit
It's 4- 4x4oz packs so that tracks.
threespruces68@reddit
Yes. Another commenter chimed in to let me know that it's 4# of butter, but that being the case, it's still more expensive than what I'm buying at the local supermarket, which surprises me. I have always assumed that buying in bulk at Costco was less expensive, but I guess that's not true for everything.
LostNectarine3978@reddit
For me Walmart is $3.89 per box. Costco is 4 boxes for $10.
thcitizgoalz@reddit
I get the 4lb packs of Kirkland brand butter (4 - 1lb packs, each with 4 sticks of butter). Until last week, they were $9.49 for 4lbs.
Now they're $12.69.
daughter_void@reddit
Our Costco sells butter as packages containing 4 boxes, each box with 4oz sticks
TheMoralityComplex@reddit
Same, just getting ready to run out.
threespruces68@reddit
That makes so much more sense! Thank you.
dodekahedron@reddit
Our meijer butter section has 0 good butters right now and replaced the section wirh hashbrowns.
I didnt look closely enough that day to see what was going on. But this comment and where the hasbrowns were filling soace is where all the imported butters go.
Guess ill learn to make butter
PaintedDream@reddit
Making butter with heavy whipping cream (HWC) in a food processor is quick, usually taking 3-10 minutes. Simply process 1–2 cups of heavy cream on high until it separates into solid butter and liquid buttermilk, then strain, rinse, and salt it. Boom!
litreofstarlight@reddit
Jesus, that's worse than Australia pricing, wtf?
MidSinglesInYourArea@reddit
Unless you're in Alaska or something that's just not accurate. Source: I was at Costco today
BigDaddyThunderpants@reddit
Thank you for your service.
SWtoNWmom@reddit
I too track butter for work. We shop Sam's Club as the local price-to-beat. A four pack of Sam's Club butter (4lbs) is up a dollar from April first to now.
SquirrelyMcNutz@reddit
Bro, what? $17 for a pound of butter? A couple weeks ago (I know, it seems like an eternity nowadays) I got 3lbs for $5. Hell, Wallyworld is listing a lb for $3 on their website.
I know it's not 'premium', but for almost all use cases, premium butter isn't worth the expense. Maybe if it's some ultra rare, actual kobe-type beef, hand churned, etc., it might be worth more, but not for everyday usage.
Diligent_Ad_7232@reddit
I buy butter from Safeway when they run their sales. Usually $2.50/lb. Costco butter never gets that low
Far-Measurement8991@reddit
My local Costco has been sold out of sardines for the last couple of weeks. Not sure what the cause is, but I know there have also been issues with aluminum as well.
Monarc73@reddit
Powdered milk is unavailable in Tx. (I've tried to buy it twice by delivery)
likelywitch@reddit
I mean … there’s a recall
SuccessWise9593@reddit
Thank you for this information.
likelywitch@reddit
Ye, I’m sure not via delivery there are signs up to explain in many stores. Online prob not set up to do that however
Berlynprimal@reddit
They have it on the shelves at WalMart and Sams in DFW. It's in the baby section at Sams and with ethnic foods at Walmart.
arb1698@reddit
It's only just begun.
707-5150@reddit
Can’t stop what’s coming
arb1698@reddit
In 6 months due to lack of fertilizers gonna be bad like famine bad in some places.
Monarc73@reddit
Did you see the hay pricing post earlier? It's up past $400+ / ton already. I think we can assume meat is a thing of the past, at least for a looooong while.
arb1698@reddit
Trust me I have to buy hay in Texas it's getting bad.
trapqueen412@reddit
The news is hiding much of what is going on in the world. They showed a snippet of Cuba right now. There's ppl walking around looking like Ethiopians (not trying to be rude just the best way to describe it). In the dark, with everything collapsing. I fear for all of us.
kingofhearts778@reddit
How do I get news that will tell me the real scenario? We’re being censored in the US.
throwaway91ma@reddit
Where’d you find this? We’re being censored in America so bad and it pissess me off.
PaintedDream@reddit
Search for "Nick Shirley Cuba" video on YouTube.
trapqueen412@reddit
My local news! I've noticed lately that some stations just quickly run by horrible news stories and then move to the weather. If u Google "people starving in Cuba" all the major news sources have reports. BUT you actually have to search for it, or see the quick snippet the first time they air it, cuz they never air it again. It's like "hiding in plain sight" to me.
And they bank on ppl not paying attention. I work in a hospital for God's sake and one of my nurse coworkers never even heard about Alex Pretti getting killed 🤯🤯🤯
femanonette@reddit
There are people who don't even know about the Epstein files. It's beyond mind blowing how checked out the American Public is and it's absolutely no wonder this train is off its tracks.
kingofthesofas@reddit
My freezer full of elk that I shoot every year continues to pay dividends
kingofthesofas@reddit
Yeah that is when the famines will kick in. This stuff has long supply chains so it is unlikely that anything happening right now is related to this. Rich countries will still be able to buy food and America as a net exporter of food will be fine. The global south however is fucked. This combined with the general chaos caused by climate change in the food sector could have the effect of a multiple breadbasket failure. I think you will see a lot of places in poor countries stop growing cash crops for export and switch back to staples just to keep populations alive so those cash crops could end up in short supply. Think stuff like cotton, sugarcane, cocoa, coffee, tea, and tobacco. A lot of those require a lot of fertilizer too, because the soil in those growing areas is poor. You can grow certain stable crops in those areas without nearly as much fertilizer which will also drive this transition. That being said a lot of people will still starve.
totheunknownman-----@reddit
Tori Amos - Bells for Her
Additional_Wolf3880@reddit
Our Costco two days ago, abundance everywhere.
Abileewho@reddit
I’ve noticed a lot more dented cans on the shelf. And I accidentally bought already expired pancake mix that was still on the shelf.
Those things are in addition to the rotting produce in my store.
bananapeel@reddit
The rotting produce is real. I had a red onion rotted out from the inside and I just bought it a couple of days ago.
Inside-Drummer-646@reddit
I thought it was just our store!! all the onions are rotten!!
puppylust@reddit
The quality of onions has been awful for a few years now... More than half the yellow onions have dusty black mold. It's perfectly safe to rinse it off and eat, but that used to be rare.
I hardly buy fresh potatoes anymore. Some other veg has maintained quality but the price jumped.
bananapeel@reddit
Potatoes... man. They either instantly turn green or rot.
IllustriousShifter@reddit
Where you located?
Abileewho@reddit
In the Northeast.
sodoyoulikecheese@reddit
My brother stocks shelves for Costco, like he’s one of the forklift drivers in a warehouse. I asked him how come things get moved or disappear. He said if it is still in stock, but moved away from its usual spot it’s either because management decided to rearrange things or they just needed to find a spot where it fit. If the item has disappeared completely then it is likely due to some products having contracts that Costco can only make up a certain percentage of their sales and they have to wait until the next quarter before they can put more out.
Physical-Ad-5039@reddit
At the Richmond, CA Costco, it was the first time I saw 2 extra pallets of ramen plunked in the aisle, jutting out. Is the demand high because more people are prepping or are more people resortinging to ramen due to circumstances - maybe both. Everthing was abundant except the organic bananas were the dregs from the weekend.
ninjaluvr@reddit
No issues at the Costco in Richmond, Virginia.
DeadlyYellow@reddit
Wasn't at Costco but had bananas at Aldi in NW Indiana. Pretty much entirely green though.
Strawberries are hit or miss, and produce in general has been pretty poor quality of late.
svr0105@reddit
Same in St Louis, MO. I just bought bananas at Costco an hour ago. There were plenty, regular and organic.
Greedy-Being6456@reddit
It also maybe consumers are changing purchases to offset gas prices. I've stopped eating out daily. Grill more at home...etc.
capitalistmike@reddit
No issues here in Hampton Roads, Va.
VirtualDoll@reddit
I was a little suspicious about a month or so ago to see everything peaches-flavored. Like, pastries, deserts, bakery items, etc.
Next thing you know, we're hearing about a manufactured peach shortage as farmers are destroying their crops 🙃
msoats@reddit
Here in nj, farmers have said not to expect local peaches this year. We had late frosts that killed off the crops
Trnava99@reddit
Similar situation in both Colorado and Utah.
Skimmington16@reddit
Dell monte went bankrupt (I believe private equity is to be blamed again) & farmers have been told that if they destroy their trees, the govt will give them money. So they’re doing that. There also was heat and a late freeze, so a lot of orchards won’t have peaches. I’ve seen 1 not great looking peach on my 3 trees.
Toni Farmer has some info on it. She’s a UPenn prof https://www.instagram.com/tonifarmersgarden/reel/DYNVSuQiuwf/
FrequentMembership76@reddit
I was in Walmart last week and they had 20lb bags of rice and dry pinto beans in the middle aisle display. That was weird for sure.
CreativeCthulhu@reddit
Cottage cheese in rural Alabama is almost non-existent. That's one that really stood out to me when I did a quick run for some odds and ends the other day. WalMart had none at all and I ended up finding some at a Dollar General of all places that had 3 or 4 containers.
Street_Ad3324@reddit
Whether it’s actual food shortages or just disruption to supply chains - there are way less items on shelves than usual. And if something goes on sale, it’s out of stock immediately and the shelves stay bare longer than usual.
Prices also escalating.
BerryButterBall@reddit
OP, which Costco do you visit? Northern or central VA?
Responsible_Video364@reddit (OP)
This is the Leesburg Costco
Haldron-44@reddit
Small backwarer town out in CA and our local grocier has been having issues. We weird ones like no honey, certain liquor and dairy brands shelves empty. Really bad produce (like I have to carefully examine it because they are stocking moldy and rotten product). Generally we are paying 3x minimum what we paid in 2025 for groceries. Restaurants haven't gone up by much, but gas is $7/gal so have been planning on my days off to bike or hike into town for stuff rather than drive, and just spend all day there.
sunkist1147@reddit
Costco in Superior, Colorado the other day was out of ALL butter.
catsdelicacy@reddit
I mean, we did all live through the pandemic. We're always gonna be jumpy, right? This hantavirus thing is making people jumpy, so they're doomsday prepping.
But prices are going to continue to go up, so it's not dumb to fill up on any food that won't expire soon. It'll all cost more and more as time goes by.
carlitospig@reddit
Huh, I didn’t even notice the lack of bananas. I did notice the supreme lack of tomatoes at my local Safeway, but it’s been like this for a couple years now. In fact, the tomatoes I had to buy were hot house and from….Canada. Not Chile and not Mexico, Canada.
ceo_of_denver@reddit
Yeah, one of the richest states in the country is running out of food cause Costco is out of canned Vienna sausage
LoveIsAFire@reddit
No strawberries at either Costco or Sam’s this weekend in Indiana.
greendildouptheass@reddit
increase in diesel price and logistics have become a source of concern. Most random stuff started going bare on store shelves, SW region.
LankyGuitar6528@reddit
Dog food too. Weirdly empty. Enough people know what's coming that they are preparing. Dog food is the new TP it seems.
distilledwater__@reddit
This is gangster level 10.
Plane-Assumption840@reddit
No food supply shortages I’ve noted in Midwest. Bananas are averaging .50 p/lb here. I’m slowly stocking from sales. It’s the petro-based items I’m more concerned about right now. I’ve got the granular fertilizer for next year’s garden stored in sealed 5 gal. buckets.
JoJackthewonderskunk@reddit
Devil's advocate: cant rule out the truck was late at this point. Or the guy who stocks it called in. Etc etc.
Euphoric_War_2195@reddit
Are there truly shortages or are people just opting to buy more canned goods because they anticipate harder times are coming? Canned food is going to last longer than fresh food. Especially if someone doesn't know how to can their fresh food to preserve it.
Parking_Fan_7651@reddit
One question to consider: is it audit time/end of the fiscal year for any of these grocers? That can explain a lot of this, and is something I’ve seen at a few retailers/grocers near me this last month.
Billy_bob_thorton-@reddit
As an auditor no but maybe, a lot of these companies have a fiscal year end of 12/31 which is right around when they’d be having inventory counts etc.
Some have it at 6/30 but most do not. And that wouldn’t make the prices jump this much while coincidentally gas is also super high
Waaay more likely that energy costs effect literally everything in our economy but especially food
Parking_Fan_7651@reddit
I agree on your thoughts about price jumps, absolutely. My thoughts revolved more around supply being seen on shelves. Two large grocers near me stopped stocking and fronting (I don’t know if that’s the word for it?) most of the store and one of them had signs up about the eoy inventory.
Sarkarielscall@reddit
Have you ever seen them do that in any other year? I'm guessing that they're coming up with some fun little lies so that people don't panic.
Parking_Fan_7651@reddit
I do see it every year, if I show up to the store while they do it. Usually happens over the period of a day or three. But it also takes a week on either side of tha the draw down stock and restock.
timewasted90@reddit
No. Jesus. Look at agricultural news headlines. My god.
Tha_Dude_Abidez@reddit
I live in Virginia as well and have seen the audit people in Walmart recently
ivgoose@reddit
In Atlanta the cuts of beef at the local Kroger and Publix and Aldi are shifting away from ribeyes and sirloins to more “steak.” Which sounds weird but like it’s off putting.
Bastilleinstructor@reddit
Not Costco, but another Walmart shrink-flation. We have been paying about 13 or 14 bucks for a 12 pack of store brand meal replacement shakes. The 6 pack is 8 bucks. All in plastic bottles. Suddenly we couldnt get the chocolate or vanilla at any of the Walmarts around us. Now they are back in stock in the smaller pack, much smaller, 4 pack in cardboard cartons 8 bucks. Same product (best I can tell), new packaging, fewer servings, same price. We are seeing things run out, then be replaced by a smaller package. Tide clean and gentle is another one. Its dissipearing off the shelf at Walmart, but P&G says its NOT discontinued. I got two boxes at Target the other day. My husband has sensitive skin so finding a detergent that works AND doesn't cause a rash is important. I expect it to be back in the stores in a smaller box for the same or more. Some of these "shortages " are just in-between times during retooling for shrink-flation.
RCP90sKid-@reddit
Fucking horrible post. This is why people don't take our community seriously. Wtf is OP saying? Is it about Syria? Vienna sausages? Their Costco frequency? Oh, it's bananas? Wow.
Responsible_Video364@reddit (OP)
Sorry mate I've got a lot going on at home and just wanted to share with my community. I'll try harder but to let you down next time
bahhumbud@reddit
I was playing video games with a guy from Canada today. He was eating a banana. No banana shortage in western Canada at this time.
Unsure about banana business in my local stores.
RCP90sKid-@reddit
Definitely understand malaise. I definitely do not understand bad posts.
timewasted90@reddit
There is a major food shortage coming. The local crops have been fucked and the tariffs have impacted our imported foods. Buckle up. This is when it gets going.
TimberBiscuits@reddit
Not seeing anything like that here. Not sure where everyone lives but aside from some price hikes there’s plentiful food on shelves here.
OneTwoThreeFourFf@reddit
Price hikes might be why certain types of food are still on the shelf. I've always been fairly cost conscious about food prices in general, but also fairly loose. There are a ton of foods I stopped buying because of price increases, and I know I'm not the only one. I finally broke into my bulk foods supplies.
I no longer buy loafs of bread, canned foods, prepped meals, boxed dinners, steak, ground beef, fast food, slow food, etc. I'm resorting to cooking from 25lb bags of stuff and working with whatever the cheapest option for protein fruits and veggies is. I'm living healthier, which is good, but I was also perfectly fine with living medium-healthy-at-a-cost until that cost became insulting to me. These people don't realize that many of us won't go back once they end up dropping the prices again
SushiAndKetamine@reddit
So many people are no longer buying beef that I keep finding really good sales...both at my butcher and independent grocer. I recently got $100 worth of beef short ribs for $50. Definitely keep scoping out the meat section.
OneTwoThreeFourFf@reddit
Wow, nice score! I'm usually bulk buyung at Costco, live far from town. I never see their beef on sale, though I should start stopping by the other stores omw home as they do go on sale sometimes
Every-Difference5561@reddit
Once again, preping for the win
ManufacturerOk7236@reddit
Where are you located? We also have no good shortages currently. However, berry prices fluctuate slot, & any and all nuts are relatively expensive & been like this awhile. Rural Ontario Canada.
Southern_Loquat_4450@reddit
Same. Our Stater Bros. was busy restocking when I was there this morning.
JustTinman@reddit
Not an expert but I did hear that Del Monte which has always been big on all kinds of fruit since I can remember, just recently went bankrupt so I'd bet that's where the no bananas is coming from I also heard they are destroying 450 peach trees of theirs in Cali because of this which seems stupid af to me but whatever i'd day if you see fruit stock up, it may get weird until or if even someone replaces Del Monte
Leeleepal02@reddit
When I went into the store today vegetables and fruit were low. There were plenty of open spots too.
Haunting-Cause-972@reddit
That was my experience at Walmart on 5/12 at about 8:00pm in northern Wisconsin. No potatoes besides the bagged babies, no yellow or red onions, lots of empty spots in the leafy greens and fruit sections. Something I noticed for the first time personally was spoiled produce in the bins. The apples were atrocious.
Feisty_Bison_9935@reddit
I noticed two grocery stores by me moved their produce section around and took parts out to make it look like it was still full. They have looked the same(ish) for about 20 years until last week.
More_Dependent742@reddit
Yes, we have no bananas... https://youtu.be/8QqkrIDeTeA?si=S-7lZ-cvHPVGfZgC
Bluestreak2005@reddit
Bananas are imported by the USA. Tariffs have been wrecking all businesses with imports. Trump and his fucking incompetent administration didn't exclude things like Banana or food items.
You can see the same thing starting to happen with squash and other imported items.
50% of your food is imported at any time. You don't get fresh strawberries year round in the USA. We export strawberry during our growing session and import during winter from Brazil and others. Tariffs ruin all this.
The food shortages will get worse. The trucking businesses won't commit to deliveries without fuel cost guarantees.
ImpGiggle@reddit
A reminder that bananas freeze well if you plan to use them in smoothies. Peel first, and lay them flat in the bag already cut into whatever size chunks you regularly use. The flat is so they don't become one frozen mass. Great for hot weather smoothies.
Mento-yStableGenius@reddit
We’re a little south of NoVa (not too much) but our Costcos has had:
The greenest, smallest bananas
Pink and ‘less-dense’ romaine packs
A few weeks recently of no salmon - Atlantic, fresh, farmed (they had a smattering late last week)
Wal-Mart -
No zuchinni - none. No organic, no yellow, no green.
POOR onions, yellow, sweet and white. Small, soft, and rotting from the inside. (The red onions have been fine).
Green onions in poor shape, sorta slimy and limp
Fresh cilantro was limp and wilted; bought a bunch, cut the stems down and placed in a jar of cold water. They kinda perked up… *kinda*.
Iceberg lettuce is less dense, like light-weight
Super green nanners again.
No Honeycriso and no Cosmic Crisp apples.
gogogadgets1997@reddit
All the water was gone at Sam’s. A lot of items were very low. My bill was over $500. I had been putting off restocking, but it seems like a lot of people had the same ideas today.
hailene02@reddit
Costco review from this past weekend: ALOT OF THE SPICES WERE NOT THERE. The Greek Seasoning, the variety - all gone. I used to work in retail where they would expand what they 'do' have into available shelving availability and that is apparent what is going on now. :(
3y3w4tch@reddit
Oh oh oh. I just read yesterday that McCormick was just bought out by Unilever (for 44billoon) so maybe that could be a reason for empty shelves (in my head at least). It could be connected to that maybe?
I’ll have to ask my partner who works freight at a similar store to see if they have noticed anything.
That being said, I was just searching up how the tariffs have affected spices, and in January McCormick projected at least 50mill in costs for 2026 alone.
That isn’t even taking in the strait closing in account…
Ok…so…in conclusion: I started out trying to be hopeful that maybe it was rebranding/brand overhaul, but looking into it i basically just blackpilled myself into agreeing with the shortage theory.
confusedbitch_@reddit
Noticing lack of spices in other stores too… why do you think it’s spices?! I can’t figure it out but it feels worrying.
missbwith2boys@reddit
I’m sure some of them are imported so…
I’ve already been harvesting and dehydrating herbs this spring. That’s how I discovered I had inadvertently planted lemon thyme instead of regular thyme. 😂
stormrdottir@reddit
I didn't know if this was normal or not since I've only been using costco for 14 months, going once a month, but have not been able to find the greek seasoning since January and it's driving me crazy!
AndrewJK99@reddit
No Dijon mustard for a month, anyone else?
AroundTheWorldWeGo2@reddit
Minnesota and there were no strawberries.
Kasab12@reddit
My local grocery store had no bananas today.
Useful-Ambassador-87@reddit
Costco SoCal - no chocolate chips/baking chocolate of any kind this week. I didn’t see an empty space for them either on the shelves
Banned4Truth10@reddit
No shortages at mine.
Drycabin1@reddit
Got extra toilet paper on my Walmart order a few days ago and I couldn’t get my usual brand. I was happy they had some Charmin Essentials on clearance and I bought two 12 packs.
missbwith2boys@reddit
I haven’t done my Costco shopping this week, so no idea how our store compares.
But I didn’t my normal grocery shopping this weekend at my local Fred Meyers and WinCo stores. Produce at WinCo was again fairly sparse particularly the end caps, tomatoes were pretty bare. I didn’t have much on my list and they had everything I needed.
Fred’s seemed fine. Plenty of produce, meat counter seemed well stocked. I did go down one of the canned goods aisles and it didn’t strike me as empty.
PNW
Sad-Specialist-6628@reddit
Not Costco but BJs member, I went this weekend to grab items and I noticed too that shelves were a bit more scarce looking. They also haven't had strawberries for a while now.
Corporate-Scum@reddit
The piles of stuff were a little smaller today, but nowhere near the scarcity of COVID.
Hot_Examination1918@reddit
Not sure what you're trying to say here
filitupagain@reddit
I started stocking up on freeze dried food. Mountain house diced chicken was $39 in January, $59 in March and $78 today.
Blueporch@reddit
What day were you there? Monday mornings can be a little bare in some stores if they don’t get Sunday deliveries.
poorleno111@reddit
Has been fine at my local spot.
trainurdoggos@reddit
In grocery stores in my area, box and canned goods shelves are almost completely empty now, most the veg and fruit is rotting with flies around them, and the meat being sold is typically 2 days past its sell-by date. All with higher prices than ever before.
kheret@reddit
Interesting, where do you live? I’m in a large city in the upper Midwest and while prices are going up a ton, I haven’t noticed shortages.
baconator1988@reddit
He's a bot, so he lives in an old phone on a shelf rack with about 40 other old phones.
AtreyuTrinity@reddit
What makes you think that?
It really does not look like a bot to me personally. The account is 6 years old which is way older than the typical burner accounts that get used for spam. Also that karma count is actually pretty low for a 6 year old account which suggests it is just a casual person instead of a script farming for points.
If you look at the recent comments they were just in a finance sub telling people to stop rage posting about gas prices and that is a very specific human opinion to have.
It just looks like a regular user who has been around for a long time.
Salty-Passenger-4801@reddit
I went to three grocery stores within the last week, not a single one had empty shelves. Completely stocked. All 3 different grocery brands.
Cronewithneedles@reddit
That’s usually true here, too, but today I went to the store and the whole banana section was bare. The guy said they were waiting on a shipment. Another produce item was missing and a different person told me they were waiting on a shipment.
Some-Argument577@reddit
Costco's CFO has started that people have shifted to recession spending. https://www.supermarketnews.com/finance/costco-chief-financial-officer-sees-signs-of-a-recession
Dick-Swiveller@reddit
From 2023, or did I read it wrong ?
Ornery_Somewhere_800@reddit
Okay, but I think the anecdote just answered a question I had since Covid was first announced, + all the TP shortages.
Everyone was shitting their brains out from all the canned baked beans.. probably. I’m not a scientist or whatever
PracticallyInspired@reddit
Our Costco was well stocked this weekend. No empty spots.
WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit
Costco in particular is known not to carry everything forever.
If the shelves were filled with other stuff, they’re seeking greater profit
Piss_in_my_cunt@reddit
Where in Virginia? Was literally at Costco less than a week ago and everything was fully stocked. Lotta people in this thread reporting a similar experience. You sound more like a fearmonger than a prepper.
Hopeful-Force-2147@reddit
This is not even the start. Don't panic but make plans - put your focus here and not on social media and living it up .
Medical_Revenue4703@reddit
Gas prices have doubled. Freight transport by truck and train is strained to the limit. I'm seeing deliveries slowed or pick-ups dropped at my work.
Past_Canary3806@reddit
what even is that anecdote about covid lmao
sustainstainsus@reddit
Limited Tropicana options.
Alejandra-689@reddit
No entendí
FelixMumuHex@reddit
SaveusJebus@reddit
I've been trying to buy more organic flour from Walmart. I go weekly and they had the same single bag they've had there for 3 weeks now but not other stock of it. I know bc I didn't want to buy it bc it's slightly damaged.
OBotB@reddit
Mine has slowly worsened the star of death and managers deals over the past 6 months. Like star of doom sitting at normal down to above the sale price for the seasonal item where it used to be decently below that. Sometimes you can still find a good manager markdown/last couple items priced to move, but it is taking a lot longer to get to those.
They tend to be spreading things out more too, whole store reorganization so a few bulkier items are in an on the floor central area instead of stacked high up the shelves (paper products, water bottles, other canned/bottled drinks, pet food).
Last weekend I also saw a limit of 2 on some of the rice, that hadn't been there for a bit. Canned goods were a little below normal in stock from where they usually are but nothing drastic, though I was in during the early hour so fewer people were in there yet.