'It's like a Soviet store in 1981': empty shelves in America's supermarkets shock shoppers

Grocery shoppers across the country have faced empty shelves when searching for common goods due to supply chain problems, rising COVID-19 cases, and harsh winter weather. FOXNews.

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Empty shelves and dwindling food and drug supplies are reminiscent of March 2020 in Washington, D.C.

“It's like a Soviet store in 1981. It's terrible, ”one man said.

“To be honest, it's like March 2020 when everyone was stocking up and the shelves were empty,” said another man, Dominic.

“It’s just a domino effect. I mean, just a total domino effect,” Dominic said. "It's a little scary."

Larry, another DC shopper, said, “Whatever it is, I know they need to hurry up and fix it because people are going to starve. It will be difficult if this continues. "

Several buyers named a list of products they could not find, ranging from milk to drinks.

“Everything has disappeared! Meat, eggs, dairy products, some breads, most vegetables, nothing, ”said one man as he walked out of the Giant grocery store.

Shoppers also said they saw empty shelves at several grocery stores in DC.

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“Many stores are still closed,” said Zenatta, who visited several stores over the course of several days. “I think we’re going to have a food shortage soon, everything is pretty empty.”

Another woman, Megan, said that her friend advised her not to go shopping at the local Trader Joe's because there is nothing there.

“My friend, who came before me, said that it was not even worth coming. They don't have any trucks. Nobody was able to get what they wanted to buy, ”Megan said.

Another shopper, Howard, said: “It was the most empty store I have ever seen at Trader Joe's. This happens these days. "

Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran admitted on January 11 that food is in short supply, reports CNN .

“I think we've all learned how to make sure stores stay very presentable, giving consumers as much choice as possible,” Sankaran said. “However, omicron has undermined efforts to close supply chain gaps a bit. We expect more supply issues over the next four to six weeks."

Lack of staff, transportation problems and bad weather

According to the National Grocery Association, grocery stores operate with fewer staff than usual.

“In fact, labor shortages continue to put pressure on all areas of the food industry,” said Phil Lempert, industry analyst and editor at SuperMarketGuru.com.

And as the pandemic continues, many food workers choose not to return to their low-paying jobs at all. Also, the persistent shortage of truckers continues to slow the supply chain and the ability of grocery stores to quickly replenish their shelves.

Against a backdrop of widespread inland transport problems, congestion at national ports continues to record high.

“Both of these problems work in tandem to create a deficit,” Lempert said.

Much of the Midwest and Northeast has been struggling with harsh weather and hazardous travel conditions in recent times. Not only are people stocking up on large quantities of food, Lempert said, but this high demand, coupled with transportation problems, makes it difficult to transport goods in inclement weather, leading to even greater shortages.

Not to mention climate change, which poses an ongoing serious and long-term threat to food supplies.

“Fires and droughts are damaging crops such as wheat, corn and soybeans in the United States and coffee crops in Brazil,” he said. “We cannot ignore this.”

The pandemic has changed our eating habits

More and more of us are cooking and eating at home due to the pandemic, which is also exacerbating food shortages, Lempert said.

“We don't want to keep eating the same thing and are trying to diversify our home cooking. At the same time, we buy even more food, ”he said.

The scarcity also made food purchases more expensive in 2022.

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Lempert said grocery stores are certainly aware of empty shelves and are trying to mitigate panic shopping, which only makes things worse.

One strategy: stretching products

Stores do this by displaying both limited options and limited quantities of each product, in an attempt to prevent people from accumulating purchases and stretch their inventory between shipments.

“Before the pandemic, you could see five different varieties of milk in the front row and 10 bags deep. Now there will be five wide and possibly two rows deep, ”Lempert said.

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