Grocery supply chain shortages extend beyond cream cheese
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South Boulevard Publix cream cheese section. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
You may’ve noticed bare shelves recently in Charlotte grocery stores where you’d normally find staples like whipped cream, bacon and vegetable oil.
What’s happening: National cream cheese shortages have been widely reported. But local grocery stores are also seeing shortages of other products amid ongoing supply-chain challenges.
Why it matters: From bagel shops and cafes to your kitchen, a lack of key ingredients may change daily rituals for some, like a morning bagel and coffee with half & half, and holiday traditions for others, like cheesecakes and fudge.
The latest: Publix implemented restrictions just before Thanksgiving for purchase limits. A spokesperson told me there isn’t a current timeline to lift them.
- The grocer cited ongoing supply issues and increased holiday demand as reasons for purchase limits.
- They hope setting purchase limits and clearly communicating at shelf they hope people will be able to find what they need for their favorite holiday recipes.
The list: Here’s the a list of what you are limited to buying two of any individual item at your local Publix:
- bacon
- coconut flakes
- dairy whipping cream
- half & half
- frozen pie shells
- frozen hashbrowns
- canola, corn and vegetable oil
- canned cranberry sauce
- jarred gravy
- cream cheese
- rolled breakfast sausage
- disposable plates, cups and cutlery
- bath tissue
- refrigerated snacks (think Lunchables)
- sports drinks
- aseptic type juices (Capri Sun)
- canned cat food variety packs
- refrigerated pet food
For Poppy’s Bagels & More owner Ronnie Rippner, it’s business as usual for the most part.
- One of his regular suppliers was out of cream cheese, but he was able to purchase more from his other supplier earlier this week.
- “Hopefully the other supplier won’t run out now too,” he says.
- While he has enough to get through a week or two, he’s limited in how much he can purchase at once due to storage.
Statewide production: North Carolina is home to 45,000 milk cows, producing nearly 1 billion pounds of milk annually, according to N.C. State.
- Mecklenburg County has two dairy processing operators, which both focus on cheese.
What they’re saying: “You get some products that get put into a bottle and within 24 hours are on the shelf, like milk,” said Brittany Whitmire, an extension association at NC State University’s Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics.
“Then you get other products like aged cheeses or even cream cheese, it’s not a long aged product, but it requires a little more lead time, so some of those things cause a little bit of a bump in the quote unquote, normal sort of path of business,” she added.
Holiday spirit: Philadelphia Cream Cheese’s Spread the Feeling campaign will help people with replacement desserts.
- The Kraft Heinz brand will provide 18,000 people $20 reimbursements for a holiday dessert.
- Reservations will be available starting at noon on Dec. 17 and 18 for 10,000 people and 8,000 respectively.
- Reserve your spot by buying a dessert between Dec. 17-24. Redeem your reward between Dec. 28 and Jan. 4.
My thought bubble: Every December, I make my mom’s fudge, which relies heavily on cream cheese. Thankfully, I haven’t run into any issues purchasing the key ingredient yet.
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