# Things I couldn't get at the market today



## debodun (May 29, 2020)

Items on my list I couldn't find because the store was either out or hadn't restocked yet:

frozen grilled eggplant
frozen grilled mixed peppers
oat nut bread
AAA batteries
store brand Museli cereal

More bare shelves than back in March but apparently most of them didn't contain what I needed.

This store used to be open 24 hours, but are now closed between 10 pm and 6 am, they say so thay can re-stock. Every time I've gone, which is early morning, every aisle is clogged with carts and clerks re-stocking. 

In the dollar store, what few batteries they had weren't what I needed or the prices had been removed from the display. Who knows what thay are charging for their batteries?


----------



## StarSong (May 29, 2020)

debodun said:


> Items on my list I couldn't find because the store was either out or hadn't restocked yet:
> 
> frozen grilled eggplant
> frozen grilled mixed peppers
> ...


Deb, why not take the batteries to the register, say that you couldn't find the price, and ask how much they are?  If they're too much you can always decline the purchase.  People do this all the time; the cashier won't take it personally.  

We were able to get what we wanted from one store this morning. Shelves were well-stocked, though I noticed there are still no disinfectant wipes and there didn't happen to be any TP. (I wasn't shopping for either product, just checking out of habit.) 

Hitting Aldi this afternoon and hope to do equally well there.


----------



## debodun (May 29, 2020)

At the dollar store, they have alcohol, but you have to ask for it at the checkout. BTW - the local dollar store isn't cheapo junk where everything is $1, it's more like a scaled-down department store. A poor man's WalMart.

Since the local grocery is in a low population density area, the chain is probably giving the store in higher populated areas preference for delivering goods.


----------



## MarciKS (May 29, 2020)

I noticed some things are only available in store. I don't really understand that. If you can go into the store and get a box of 96 kcups for you keurig why can't they get it for you when you do pick up? Why does it have to be shipped? Those kinds of things make no sense. And I don't think it's worth the risk going into the store right now.

I ordered 42 of the prilosec pills that I have to take every day. Got 28 this time. Could only get 100 ct on the tylenol and they didn't have the ibuprofen caplets I like. Just the tablets I have trouble swallowing. If I go into the store though, there's no tylenol on the shelves except the 650 mg's which I don't like. But there's prilosec and ibuprofen no problem.


----------



## MarciKS (May 29, 2020)

oops...sorry...double post


----------



## StarSong (May 29, 2020)

debodun said:


> At the dollar store, they have alcohol, but you have to ask for it at the checkout. BTW - the local dollar store isn't cheapo junk where everything is $1, it's more like a scaled-down department store. A poor man's WalMart.
> 
> Since the local grocery is in a low population density area, the chain is probably giving the store in higher populated areas preference for delivering goods.


Our dollar stores - and particularly the 99 Cents Only store - sell most everything for a buck unless it's specifically marked otherwise.


----------



## Manatee (May 29, 2020)

Didn't have: single serve beef pot pie, borscht, Manhattan clam chowder, gumbo soup, many sugar free items, canned tamales.


----------



## Happyflowerlady (May 29, 2020)

We usually go to the store fairly early in the morning, and never on Friday or Saturday unless absolutely unavoidable.  I like to go on Thursday morning, because they have stocked up for the weekend, or on early Sunday morning, because they restocked after the busy day of Saturday shoppers. 
There are still some aisles that look pretty bare, but I mainly buy just fresh foods like produce, and some meat and dairy products.  Since I have been doing mainly WFPB, we only get meat for my husband, and he finds whatever he wants. 
I have not had any trouble getting fresh produce at all.


----------



## MickaC (Aug 22, 2020)

Last saturday, grocery trip..........was totally in shocked how low in stock some items were.......eggs, paper products, yogurt, several other dairy products, cookies, some baking supplies, margarines, and several other things.
Have never seen shelves so empty.

BUT

Today, there were even less in a lot of products.

Must be companies that have down cut downs in staff, products not able to supply.........maybe.......hope this gets back to products more easily  acquired.................scary...........scary.


----------



## Jules (Aug 22, 2020)

Senior hour was 7 to 8 a.m.  Gave up on that, since the shelves were empty. Now go at about 8:15.  Since many items are full, any empty spots seem to be because they can’t get them.  Cake mixes, etc are almost non existent. I’ve never checked where these are made.  China?  I can’t think why they can’t get them.  Sometimes there are a shortage of noodles or dried beans.  The cleaning goods aisles are always empty.  

Walmart brand quick cooking porridge is always sold out.  It’s for my friend who can’t go in the store.  

Name brand pop is hard to find too.


----------



## PamfromTx (Aug 23, 2020)

I have not been to any store in over 2 months so I have no idea how the stores are stocked.  Hubby is now going to the groceries.


----------



## Sunny (Aug 23, 2020)

I think it's amazing that they can stay stocked up as well as they do, considering everything.

In my very limited amount of in-person shopping, I've noticed a lot of inconsistency in what they have in the store on any given day. When the pandemic first started, Costco was totally out of TP, as was everyone else. A week or two later, they had huge displays of TP at the end of every aisle!

My grocery was completely out of all frozen vegetables for about a month, then all of a sudden they reappeared, all the usual brands and types of items. This seems to be the standard situation now; if you really need something, get it when you see it. It may not be there next time.


----------



## StarSong (Aug 23, 2020)

Hmm... For the past several months I haven't noticed any glaring shortages.  TP, paper towels, bleach, hand sanitizer, soaps and detergents are in stock everywhere, just as their manufacturers predicted.  Disinfectant wipes are still a rarity, but I almost never use them anyway.  Ditto rubbing alcohol.    

My husband eats eggs sometimes.  They're  pricier than usual, but I can always manage to find them.  

Like @Happyflowerlady, we eat WFPB. Fresh produce remains in good supply here, particularly in the ethnic markets we favor. Our cart leans strongly toward ingredients rather than meals. Fresh and frozen produce, canned and dried beans, dried fruit, nuts, olives, rice, whole wheat pasta, peanut butter, rolled oats, tofu, flour, sugar, yeast, spices, etc.

I had more than enough in my pantry to sail through the first month of other people's panic buying of some of the above, but they've been widely available again since early May.  

Back in March, many people wiped the shelves clean of foods they don't typically eat - dried beans, for instance.   Once those shelves were restocked, they didn't get wiped out again.  One can only imagine all those bags of dried lentils and cans of cannellini beans in people's pantries, their owners wondering  what the heck they were thinking when they bought them.  Food pantries will probably eventually receive a fair share of these impulse buys.   

Among processed foods, we regularly buy almond milk, Saltines, and rice cakes (which most people don't like but I love). No trouble trouble getting them. Same with the veggie burgers we purchase now and then.


----------



## Capt Lightning (Aug 23, 2020)

It's odd how some common items disappear from the shelves. I haven't been able to find grapefruit cordial for ages, and at our last shop, we couldn't get lemon cordial either.  I don't buy many frozen foods, but I've also had trouble finding frozen garden peas in some stores.


----------



## debodun (Aug 23, 2020)

Isopropyl rubbing alcohol is still non-existant. I cheked online websited for Walmart, Walgreen's, CVS, Family Dollar and Dollar General. "Out Of Stock" across the board for 16 and 32 oz bottles. The itsy-bitsy containers are"Limited Stock" and cost more than what the larger ones use to be. I'd go through that in 4 days!


----------



## StarSong (Aug 23, 2020)

debodun said:


> Isopropyl rubbing alcohol is still non-existant. I cheked online websited for Walmart, Walgreen's, CVS, Family Dollar and Dollar General. "Out Of Stock" across the board for 16 and 32 oz bottles. The itsy-bitsy containers are"Limited Stock" and cost more than what the larger ones use to be. I'd go through that in 4 days!


Please remind me what you use this for, Deb.  I don't even go through a pint a year.


----------



## JustBonee (Aug 23, 2020)

I was  surprised to find the large containers of  Clorox Wipes at Walmart the other day  ... limit of 1 per customer.   And they also had Clorox Clean-up spray bottles,  no limit on those.


----------



## PamfromTx (Aug 23, 2020)

Walmart had large displays of both isopropyl rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide ... a couple of months ago.  I was surprised.


----------



## debodun (Aug 23, 2020)

StarSong said:


> Please remind me what you use this for, Deb.  I don't even go through a pint a year.


Cool refreshing to rub on skin in warm weather. Witch hazel just doesn't cut it for me in that way.


----------



## StarSong (Aug 23, 2020)

debodun said:


> Cool refreshing to rub on skin in warm weather. Witch hazel just doesn't cut it for me in that way.


Oh my goodness,  I wouldn't be able to stand the strong scent. If I need to cool off a bit I just use a wet washcloth.


----------



## CarolfromTX (Aug 23, 2020)

I've even been able to find disinfectant wipes! And I bought Clorox wipes on Amazon. But, oddly, the last couple of weeks I haven't been able to find yellow wax beans. We make a three bean salad that uses them. It's a staple for us. Finally found some at Walmart, so I bought 3 cans. Whew!


----------



## MickaC (Aug 25, 2020)

I'm thinking, that the reasons, to the emptiness in our grocery store......#1, this is the only grocery store in town, there is a Co-op gas station, with some convenience store items, not a large amount......#2, campers.


----------



## debodun (Jul 26, 2021)

Bare shelves worse that a year ago. This week I couldn't get Polar vichy water or Progresso soup (they had some cans but they were badly dented - perhaps why they were still on the shelf and even then were $2.69 a can). Grapes are still high - over $8 for a bunch at $3.99 a pound. My shopping bill for a week's groceries a year ago ran $50 - $60, now it $80 - $90. I alse noticed a lot of what I woudl term "past ripe" fruit in the produce bins.


----------

