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#BareShelvesBiden: People Showing Impact of Supply Chain Disruption in Stores

#BareShelvesBiden: People Showing Impact of Supply Chain Disruption in Stores

“Instead of mean Tweets we have #BareShelvesBiden”

The wobbly supply chain has not found its footing since the fall. Grocery stores across the country have empty shelves while prices skyrocket.

Where is Biden? Where is Transportation Secretary Buttigieg? Why is Chief of Staff Ron Klein retweeting an article calling the disruption an “overhype narrative?”

It looks like staffing shortages have plagued the industry as much as backed-up ports.

The American Trucking Association said the worker shortage has less to “a shortage of 80,000 truckers.” Wholesale-Distributors also have a staffing shortage.

John Catsimatidi, the CEO of Gristedes, a supermarket company, told FOX News people could see a shortage of eggs and meat:

“Omicron is taking its toll at different levels of the supply chain, whether it’s the warehouses, whether it’s the selectors, the drivers the loaders – and as they call in sick there are interruptions in the system,” Catsimatidis told Todd Piro during an appearance on “Fox & Friends First.”

Catsimatidis went on to say that many of these interruptions will continue over the next 6 weeks as the COVID-19 variant impacts the labor market. The United Refining Company owner added that the Northeast in particular is seeing the price of various products, including eggs, poultry, and beef, go up because of low supply and high demand.

Catsimatidis also mentioned the cost of oil has hindered the supply chains since it’s needed for transportation.

People are showing pictures of empty shelves on social media with the hashtag #BareShelvesBiden.

I never thought I’d see these pictures in America outside of preparation for a storm.

THE MAYOR OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA!

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Comments

It’s amazing how quickly you can destroy things by putting communists in office. My wife has commented how this reminds her of growing up in communist Czechoslovakia. In communist you wait for bread, in capitalism bread waits for you.

    alaskabob in reply to Ironclaw. | January 10, 2022 at 4:32 pm

    We must learn to live with less…. lower our expectation…. learn by example from Chairman Joe. Think of it… no more obesity! No more waste! All equally needy and hungry. Equity!

    The armchair Maoists have no idea… by your wife does.

    JohnSmith100 in reply to Ironclaw. | January 10, 2022 at 5:27 pm

    I am prepared, my pantry has 30′ of grocery shelving from one of those smaller grocery stores, which Walmart killed. Those, and my freezers Have over 2 years worth of food for my family.

    Yes, I have have seen lots of bare shelves where I live, but that does not matter for us, at least not right away.

    People need to return to gardening, canning, freezing, dehydrating their own produce, and raise chickens, rabbits and even larger animals if they have space to do so.

    Also, get the hell out of cities. as it stands, most are doomed.

The grocery stores in Dallas, TX are fully stocked, though price of meat, is approx 20-25% higher.

I havent noticed shortages of many other products, except bicycles and parts – I happen to be competitive cyclyst, though that shortage has been around since early covid. Automobiles and other products needing chips are in short supply, but that is not related to the biden, that is more covid related.

    Grant’sGhost in reply to Joe-dallas. | January 10, 2022 at 3:42 pm

    Sure, joe because it isn’t happening to you it isn’t happening. All these people are posting false pictures. Believe what you want. The supply chain is broken. And Biden is president. So he gets blamed. Remember him blaming trump for COVID deaths….

      The Gentle Grizzly in reply to Grant’sGhost. | January 10, 2022 at 4:44 pm

      Gads..! Take a pill or something.

      Joe-dallas in reply to Grant’sGhost. | January 10, 2022 at 5:43 pm

      yes the supply chain is broken, but it aint broken as bad as depicted. Its highly unlikely that there are massive food shortages all around the country,. but somehow Dallas Texas has excess food supplies in all the grocery stores.

        I haven’t seen muck boots in stock anywhere for 6 months.

        Grant’sGhost in reply to Joe-dallas. | January 11, 2022 at 1:25 am

        Talk to people that work in consumer products. There are problems with supply chain. It isn’t just food. There is packaging there is transportation. Part of it stems from the shift from commercial to residential markets. Some of it is because stuff (raw materials) aren’t going out on ships so shops are going to Asia empty. Stuff isn’t coming back. Just in time is broken. Framers dumped milk because of packaging. Farmers plowed under and burned grain.

        Try to get tires or windshield glass in some places. You can’t. Have you ever seen this in your life. I’m in my mid 50s and never experienced this in the us. I lived in Russia in the mid 90s and this is what it was like there.

        I went to Costco to buy dog food. They had 8 bags of the stuff I buy for my dog. I’ve never seen them have so few I could even count.

        The conservativetreehouse ran an Interesting story in this and zerohedge covers this all the time.

          henrybowman in reply to Grant’sGhost. | January 11, 2022 at 3:23 pm

          “Just in time is broken.”
          I’d pay good money to go back in time 30 years and show those smug bastards I worked with how fast a gay Democrat with a new baby could take down their whole operation. But a vulture capitalist did it first.

      Colonel Travis in reply to Grant’sGhost. | January 10, 2022 at 6:37 pm

      I live in DFW and can confirm what Joe says. All he’s saying is that he hasn’t seen an issue here. I haven’t either, and I’m one of those goofballs who goes to the grocery store 2-3 times a week because it’s close and I don’t buy a ton of stuff each time. All I’ve noticed is a significant price increase in things.

        Same here, DFW and Colonel. Not much in the way of empty shelves or shortages in my part of Free Florida. I did note that some things are rarely available now (like Benedryl, for some reason, and I have bad allergies in both Spring and Fall so like to have it on hand), and of course prices are through the roof.

        Gone are the days of $.97/lb whole chickens; I’m lucky to see them for under $2.99/lb now. I like to get whole chickens because roast chicken is among my absolute favorites and because leftover chicken makes its way into my other favorites, chicken pot pie or homemade chicken noodle/rice/mushroom and wild rice soup. I then use the carcass to make a delicious stock which I then use in the aforementioned soups and other recipes since it freezes up so well (also saves a ton of money buying overly salty chicken stock). I used to save the livers for my mom because she loved to fry them up, but now that she is gone, I just toss them in the stock for the increased vitamins and other nutrients. Using up every last bit (except the heart and lungs, unless I am making gravy) feels right.

        Heh, as you can tell, I am very enthused about cooking. That and gardening.

        I think that the fact we aren’t seeing shortages yet doesn’t negate that others are experiencing them. I have no doubt that they are. Besides, I like that we can hear from so many people across these United States about their experiences (and not just with shortages or price increases; I also found it interesting to learn what WuFlu restrictions our readers were experiencing, and etc.).

          The shortage of Benadryl and the store brand equivalents may be partly caused by reports that it can be useful if you catch the WuFlu.

          Oh! I hadn’t even heard that, thanks p. I just get terrible allergies and need to have that stuff on hand or I’m a sniffling sneezing mess.

          Hey Fuzzy … allergies here too, since I was 12. Only thing that has helped me is a nightly irrigation routine – no not a neti pot – either some Arm and Hammer saline spray or Ocean Mist type of saline squeeze bottle and blow. Follow with a shot or 2 of Fluconase (Allerflo from Costco is cheap).

          I had been using Afrin, for years, and last fall developed a terrible case of dry-eye. It occured to me there’s not much flesh between the sinus and eye, so I quit Afrin and the dry eye cleared up. In it’s place Xlear has helped me breathe a little better – which makes for better sleep.

        healthguyfsu in reply to Colonel Travis. | January 11, 2022 at 4:59 pm

        Texas and Florida both have good coastlines for goods movement and Texas isn’t far from Cali and has many reasons for transit.

        Think about the midwest and flyover country.

          True! I know Gov. DeSantis was urging shippers to use Florida ports which are untroubled by bizarre regulations, laws killing gig work, and union rules. Maybe that’s why we are getting stuff here in Free Florida? Reason 83,540 I love my gov.

      Lucifer Morningstar in reply to Grant’sGhost. | January 10, 2022 at 7:08 pm

      Great Maker, there might be some shortages of once common items around the grocery stores/supermarkets where I live but and prices might be getting ridiculous on certain items but there isn’t the wholesale empty shelves as illustrated in the included tweets and you can still get the basic items that you need. Whomever is running those establishments with empty shelves is sure not doing a good job. That’s for sure.

        I wonder if it’s just poor management at local stores, though I don’t have an explanation for why certain geographical areas are being choked of goods while others don’t seem to feel the shortages (except, and quite notably, in their wallets).

          Buddy of mine owns the local hardware store and says he had to get more warehouse storage and change the way he buys or he would have bare shelves.

          I suspect people with bare shelves failed to adapt to the “new normal” and losing out as things change.

          healthguyfsu in reply to Fuzzy Slippers. | January 11, 2022 at 5:02 pm

          Poor management is a possibility but so is select suppliers that are hurt more than others by the logjam. That could be due to no fault of the management because they had supply contracts since before the pandemic.

          Some may have fared better because they are bigger stores that have more contracts and might be able to put pressure on some of their contracts to bring them more of the available stock. That pressure usually comes with a price hike.

    henrybowman in reply to Joe-dallas. | January 10, 2022 at 6:17 pm

    My 103-yo mother hasn’t had heat in her house for two months now, because “waiting for a part.” Fortunately, she lives in Florida, but still.

    SC Reader in reply to Joe-dallas. | January 10, 2022 at 8:09 pm

    I could send you some pictures of bare shelves in more than one of our local grocery stores in upstate SC. One time what you need is there; another time you find it at a different store; sometimes, the product is simply not available locally. Shopping has become a peregrination.

Be sure to carry some “I did this” stickers with you to put at the back of the shelf to remind all the old ladies who thought Trump was a big meanie that THIS is what they voted for.

Some family members who voted for Inslee both have squatters / drug houses across the street from them who are terrorizing their neighborhood. I don’t want to be a dick to family, but almost want to say “gee if only there had been a tough-on-crime candidate from law enforcement on the ballot for governor in 2020.”

    henrybowman in reply to Andy. | January 10, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    Thanks for the pointer. Had no idea such stickers were available, and so widely! Putting in my order today!

      This is a great idea. I have seen them on gas pumps in my little piece of Free Florida heaven.

      It kind of reminds me of the “thanks Obama” post-it note rebellion during the Obama years. But this is a bigger thing, and the stickers do make it easy to slap on to shelves, gas pumps, whatever Biden has destroyed thus far.

        henrybowman in reply to Fuzzy Slippers. | January 10, 2022 at 6:20 pm

        It’s a powerful means of protest. I used to carry transparent stickers to post under “no guns” signs on malls and businesses that said:
        MANAGEMENT ASSUMES TOTAL LEGAL LIABILITY FOR SAFETY OF PATRONS IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT.

        Go to the LI photo way back machine of “tax cheat” written on money with Tim Geitner’s name on it. I assure you by the power of the 1st and 5th amendments that hundreds and possibly thousands of those were in circulation.

I shop at two upper middle-class Kroger stores here in SE Michigan. They are better at hiding empty shelves by filling in commonly traveled isles and leaving out of the way rows empty. Also, no displays on the ends of isles or in the middle of wide isles where they used to put the clearance and deep discount items. Milk and fresh produce are harder to cover up.

I was in IKEA where the warehouse sections were easily 90% empty. It was eerie.

    healthguyfsu in reply to DanJ1. | January 11, 2022 at 5:03 pm

    I can confirm from my college days that facing the shelves to make them look full is a common practice in grocery stores just for aesthetic purposes.

Biden took a victory lap after waving his magic wand and getting port workers to do 24/7 shifts. Today reported record number of ships waiting off LB/LA ports. Statistics from the port authority showed that Biden’s edict worked so well that in November fewer containers were offloaded than any month all year. December was likely worse. Way to go Joe!

I’m just waiting to hear the Lame Stream Media report these successes.

730 million with Covid is REAL

100,000 kids on ventilators.. REAL

Best Economic for President … REAL

empty Shelves… PHOTOSHOP.

Let the price rise and there won’t be shortages, nor will there be people hoarding.

The practical difficulty is idiocy. If somebody makes a profit, he won’t be hailed as a hero provider but as a wicked force, and laws will be passed or enforced to prevent it all

    alaskabob in reply to rhhardin. | January 10, 2022 at 4:38 pm

    This isn’t a supply and demand issue… There is no supply no matter how much demand. What is around includes shrink-flation. The disruption of the supply chain is more than prices.

      Ironclaw in reply to alaskabob. | January 11, 2022 at 12:09 am

      I’d venture that quite a lot of it is storeable foods being bought because they expect that the price is going to rise drastically.

    JohnSmith100 in reply to rhhardin. | January 10, 2022 at 6:01 pm

    Having ample inventory is a hedge against inflation, and it is protection from disruptions. Everyone should have at least a month or two buffer. I have operated this way since I was a young man. Fewer trips to stores also saves money. And last, my inventory was fr the most part acquired before there was a shortage.

If you recall the media stories of dairy farmers pouring out milk and crops being plowed under then you know where the shortage comes from. Way over simplified, the US has, normally, about 6 months worth of various food stuffs in storage. These are used to smooth over seasonal issues or a bad crop or weather/natural disasters interruption in the distribution system.

The thrown away food was basically set for the restaurant market v the home kitchen. Shutdown the restaurants for Covid and they don’t need delivery. Now add in the portion of the logistics chain that serviced the restaurants; no delivery orders means no freight on trucks so no need for drivers. Now add in all the other ripple effects. The rough breakdown is 60% restaurants and 40% home kitchen which got turned upside down with Covid and the networks of growers, suppliers, end users and transport systems are still in flux. The major commercial food companies have been putting this out for a while; expect shortages and increased prices. It takes time to reestablish networks and contracts when many restaurants are out of business and drivers quit the industry out of necessity.

    Excellent point, Chief. I wrote about this back in April, 2020: https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/04/wuhan-coronavirus-shutdowns-hitting-americas-farms/

    Some states were working with their farmers to help distribute the excess food (milk, vegetables, fruit, eggs) to charities and even to allow sale to private customers (this is not allowed in numerous states due to absolutely ridiculous regulations or union rules).

    Anyway, as farmers were destroying millions of eggs, the American customer was paying MORE for them at the grocery store. There are a lot of reasons for this, and almost all of them are related to too much government intrusion and too little common sense (other reasons include globalization that has created a contract-based agreements with foreign growers, among other factors).

    It does take time to rebuild that, and as you note, many restaurants are out of business for good, with many more on the way out due to Biden and Democrat policies, so the recovery hasn’t really begun yet.

    JohnSmith100 in reply to CommoChief. | January 10, 2022 at 6:15 pm

    People not eating at restaurants means they are eating at home. That means that food being dumped still creates a shortage elsewhere.

      French fries and soft serve ice cream for instance are mainly a restaurant thing…

      Funny thing- Sysco can’t get it out to restaurants.

      CommoChief in reply to JohnSmith100. | January 11, 2022 at 9:53 am

      Yes exactly. The supply system for restaurants and home kitchen are distinct. The dumped food was the restaurant side. Then the burn rate increased for the stored food. Thing is the home v restaurant equilibrium is still in flux and the supply chain, including production, is still adapting. The lack of drivers is a problem but the bigger issue is lack of cushion from depleted storage.

I wish a nasty, aggressive case of jock itch on Joe Biden.
(Guess what else you can’t find on the shelves?)

Subotai Bahadur | January 10, 2022 at 5:00 pm

I do most of the shopping at our house. Household is myself, my wife, and a disabled daughter. Up until a few months ago, my wife was functionally disabled, but since ortho surgery she gets around. I just picked up the chore as part of my household duties years ago.

We have a Kroger, a Walmart, and a Safeway in my town and an AG a few miles away.

I used to be able to shop at any store, based on what I mostly needed at the moment. Now shopping involves going to all three stores in town pretty much every time because there are always some or another staple item that used to be everywhere and now has to be searched out. I am glad that back in the days when I got paid monthly, I got the habit of keeping 1-2 months supplies in the pantry and rotating them. Having a cushion to fall back on seems vital. In cities, I don’t know how they do it.

Subotai Bahadur

    On another message board I frequent there recently was a discussion about how long you could last with the food you had in your home right at that moment. The most common answers were anywhere between a week to maybe a month. Then there were the people who were stocked like you are, with some having upwards of 6 months’ worth. What was surprising was the number of people who said they went shopping every few days or once a week and bought just what they needed, the biggest reason being they ate a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. As in, they had little if anything to fall back on. Given the nature of the board, quite a few of them are senior citizens and/or live alone.

      Yikes. I figured the majority of daily/weekly shoppers would be younger people; I’m sorry to hear that many are seniors. I can see young people having a stash of ketchup packets and maybe some ramen and trail mix in the cabinet, but really, everyone needs to have on hand at least a six-month supply of food. Pick up stuff on sale, buy two of things if you can afford it (use one, freeze one–milk, bread, butter, lunch meat, most cheeses can be frozen).

      Rice, dried beans/split peas, canned goods (though be careful, a lot of these “cans” are now mostly cardboard and don’t have the same shelf-life as actual cans), pasta, flour (including bread flour and even yeast if you wish to make your own bread/biscuits), sugar, cocoa powder, dried foods (anything from mushrooms and onions to fruit to powered dairy products), and the like. Also stock up on your favorite spices (I love garlic, so have a LOT of it; ditto oregano and “Italian seasoning,” dill, mustard, celery salt/seed, and etc.). You can make tons of amazingly yummy meals out just these items, with lots of variety. Obviously, only buy and store what you actually like (I like all of these things).

      There are still a lot of things you still need to buy (or grow on your own) like potatoes, onions, salad stuffs, but if, as preppers like to say, the SHTF, you will be okay with dry stored/frozen goods for as long as you have power and water. Of course if the SreallyHTF, electricity and water may not be available, so generators and assorted other food storage plans/what to do with freezers full of foodstuffs when you can’t get fuel for your genny are necessary.

        If you’ve ever seen a NYC apartment- most aren’t big to store much. Especially with 10 cu ft fridges. I have 2 25 cu ft fridges, one filled with drinks. And a separate freezer. And a 10′ x 10′ pantry with shelving on all 4 walls. Filed with canned and boxed goods- the boxed goods in plastic containers. Mice love cardboard boxes…

          I am sympathetic, gospace! I really can’t imagine living in any city at this point in our nation’s history, but I know that a lot of good patriots must do so.

          Mice are troublesome everywhere, especially when it comes to packaged dry goods like sugar, flour, rice, beans, split peas, pasta, etc. I would be stashing canned goods under furniture, behind books on bookshelves, wherever. Get some glass jars (mason, or whatever air-sealed type you like) and fill them with dry goods, display them proudly on your desk, coffee table, whatever. Heck, get food coloring and make pretty designs in your sugar jars (just make sure the coloring is dry before storing, a quick oven stint will do the trick)! Cram as much food in your apartment as you can; it doesn’t have to be in “normal” places! 🙂

      hrhdhd in reply to p. | January 10, 2022 at 9:25 pm

      A few years ago, people in south FL were lining up about 20 minutes after a hurricane went by for food. Goodness. No jar of peanut butter? No frozen food to cook before it spoils?

        I’ve lived most of my adult life in Florida, and when hurricanes cause problems for more than a day or two, we typically all get together in the neighborhood and cook up food that will spoil with no electricity, share gas for gennies and pile all our stuff in one or two of our neighbors’ freezers, etc.

        One thing I love about America is that we do tend to pull together when the SHTF. Granted, I wouldn’t want to be in a neighborhood run by antif pukes, but I’m happy to know our little slice of heaven is well-protected from these types. 😛

      f2000 in reply to p. | January 11, 2022 at 6:45 am

      Since we just closed out deer season, I could go a good long while, as long as the electricity stays on.

Field report from Surfside Beach,SC.. Local deli cannot get chicken livers to make chopped chicken livers.

Hubby is besides himself… collapsed on the sofa. I think we are just seeing the beginning of all this…

    I have a bunch of chicken livers (and necks) in my freezer right now! I am saving them for stock and broth, but if you lived near me, I would happily give them to you to keep your hubby happy! (My mom loved chicken livers, too, not a taste I ever developed.)

    And yes, we are just seeing the start of this, I agree. In fact, it won’t be long before I am asking for #BareShelvesBiden photos! Remember the fun “empty chair” series we did of reader photos? I feel another one coming on before too long! 😛

Yesterday — after not visiting a certain specialty fast food place for a couple of months — I paid slightly more than usual, for about 1/3 less food.

At this rate I expect to be paying twice as much for even less food by summer.

    Olinser in reply to McGehee. | January 10, 2022 at 7:34 pm

    I went to an Outback last week after not going for about a year or so.

    Prices had literally gone up 50%. In one year.

    navyvet in reply to McGehee. | January 10, 2022 at 9:56 pm

    A few weeks ago, went to Publix to pick up a Digiorno cheese pizza. Price was a little higher than normal, but the shock came when I opened the box. The size of the pizza had shrunk by about four inches! Pay more, get less.

    For me, it’s Digiorno no more.

      henrybowman in reply to navyvet. | January 11, 2022 at 3:30 pm

      Pei Wei’s used to have “standard” and “small” versions of their entrees. Now the “standard” ones have quietly disappeared.

    You have been for years. Did you notice that the 16 oz we used to get is now 14.5? Did you notice that everything is smaller and still costs the same? Yeah, Big Food is counting on your not noticing. But I noticed. I love to cook, and I love to cook “old” recipes. This is kind of hard to do when you literally can’t find a 16 oz can of anything and couldn’t for the past ten years or so.

    This is just going to get worse. And it’s not just the size of the cans that has changed well before the pandemic but the quality of the cans. Most are mostly cardboard and have practically no shelf life as a result.

    And yes, you will be paying twice as much for even less food by the time Bidenflation summer hits, but you already were. Biden has just made it worse.

They’re having the same problems across Canada, but there’s another whammy coming for Canadians in that starting soon the waiver that cross-border truckers had which allowed them to enter the country without being vaxxed will go bye-bye and instead at the border they will have to show proof of vaccination. I believe it starts later this week.

Morning Sunshine | January 10, 2022 at 7:52 pm

A lot of the problem is PLASTIC. I could not find the Kirkland brand peanut butter at any Costco from Salt Lake to Clarkston Washington between August and November. When it came back, it was 50% higher in cost.

And when I was looking for construction materials (major house remodel), the plastic items are either non-existant, hard-to-find, or backordered until who-knows-when. My windows, ordered in October, were supposed to arrive this month. Now they are pushed back to February. Insulation prices are outrageous, and have doubled since July.

I don’t know if the grocery stores in Sequim have bare shelves – least ways they didn’t 10 days ago. We’re isolating for an upcoming surgery and just today used ordering online and curbside pickup for the first time.

They had to make a couple substitutions – shredded cheese and ground beef. They were out of hotdog buns, basil, mushrooms, and oriental noodles. So ordered what we missed from Walmart for pickup tomorrow.

We’re good foodwise for 3-4 months. Every thing that will hold gasoline or propane is full.

Strange thing about western WA, we’ve been more or less cut off from the rest of the country for about a week. Snoqualmie pass was closed for snow – people were stranded there for several days. And I-5 northbound is closed at Centralia/Chehalis for flooding.

All we need now is for someone to sink the Hood Canal bridge again and we’re effectively marrooned. Olympia to Quilcene/Discovery Ban can be driven, but it’ll make a person yak what with all the twists and turns.

A factor not mentioned is Omicron. I know a manager at a local supermarket. Last week they were down so many employees one shift because of Covid that she had to do a register herself and they just did not have the employees to restock things, which they had, when they ran out.

AnAdultInDiapers | January 11, 2022 at 4:08 am

According to the BBC, Twitter and the British media this is due to Brexit.