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Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and the Delta variant in particular, grocery stores like Walmart are having problems stocking certain items. This is due to a number of different reasons. On the one hand, some consumers are still eager to accumulate essential products. Second, employers have a harder time hiring and retaining employees, a dynamic that impacts the efficiency of the supply chain.
It is unfortunate that we have been in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic for almost 20 months now. Even though we have effective vaccines, many people are still reluctant to get vaccinated. As a result, vaccines have not stopped COVID-19 net in its tracks. On the contrary, the virus had a chance to mutate. A few months ago, the Delta variant began to spread like wildfire across the United States.
Food shortage at Walmart
The rumor of food shortages at Walmart began to emerge early last month. Unsurprisingly, this coincided with a huge wave of COVID-19 infections. In September, the United States recorded more than 160,000 new infections every day. At the same time, hospitalization and death rates also started to increase.
With October now in full swing, COVID-19 infections are thankfully on the decline. However, food shortages persist. Even when certain food items are available for purchase, a scarcity of supply has led to higher prices.
In an article that went viral on Facebook, Taste of the house asked its readers to itemize any grocery shortages they encountered. The response has been overwhelming.
A few items that are particularly hard to find right now include beef, pork, chicken, juices, and snacks.
When it comes to beef, one of the issues is that some meat processors have experienced a dramatic drop in employee numbers due to vaccination requirements.
A Walmart employee, commenting on Reddit, said the following about Gatorade’s offer:
We get half a pallet to a random pallet. Not enough to fill the shelves, but enough to scratch them and face them so that they don’t look empty, until ten minutes after opening, that is. I have noticed that we are running low on a lot of high value juices and overall a lot of high value products which is weird since I thought Walmart had them.
Food shortages are not yet nationwide
Right now, most food shortages tend to be regional.
USDA notes:
There is currently no food shortage nationwide, although in some cases the stock of certain foods in your grocery store may be temporarily low before stores can restock.
There is, however, a nationwide labor shortage which, again, is impacting the supply chain and the ability of grocery stores to stock their shelves.
As a result, Walmart announced in September that it plans to hire 20,000 new workers to help during the holidays. It remains to be seen how well this will alleviate Walmart’s inventory problems.
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