The Great Cat Food Shortage of 2022!
Seriously, shelves aren’t empty, but there are empty spaces
CUSTER COUNTY - It’s not the toilet paper shortage of 2020 but the current situation with cat food may be causing some finicky felines to hiss when their favorite canned delicacies aren’t set down in front of them.
For weeks, the selection of canned cat food at The Grocery Kart in Broken Bow has been slim and many of the shelves are now empty.
“We’ve not been able to get canned cat food for about a month,” Grocery Kart Manager Steve Fowler said.
The manager at Gary’s Super Foods in Broken Bow, Tony Pantenburg, confirmed a similar situation. “It’s crazy,” he said. “We are out of stock on some pet foods.”
At the Callaway Market, owner/manager Lawrence Paulsen said it’s the same situation. “Getting Friskies and 9-Lives is tough,” he said.
Owner/manager of Reed’s Food Center in Arnold, John Reed, said it’s the same thing at his store. “The manufacturers limit what you can get,” he said. “You can order 100 cases of canned cat food and you might get five.”
Not being able to get a preferred type of pet food may not be at the top of the all-time problem list, however, it can create a challenge for some pet owners because some cats are incredibly finicky. An owner may need to get creative in mixing food or maybe Mittens just may need to accept a change. Fowler pointed out that the current shortage is mainly canned cat food and that dry varieties are available.
What’s happening in the pet food aisle is indicative of shelves throughout grocery stores. Shelves are not totally empty but there are empty spaces.
“It’s in every department to varying degrees,” Fowler said. He added that delivery times for some items are extended and other items just don’t arrive. “The list of items I don’t get in is five or six pages long.” It’s not uncommon for about 700 items on a 1,000 item order to arrive, he explained.
The frozen potato section is one Fowler mentioned as having a lot of open spaces. Asked about paper products, he said, “There’s plenty of toilet paper but look at (the space in) the plate and cup section.”
Paulsen also mentioned gaps in the frozen potato section. Other items he noted were La Choy Chow Mein Noodles and crackers. “It’s a little challenging,” he said. “It’s hit and miss.”
Sargent Corner Market owner/manager Karl Davis said product gaps are “everywhere.” He specifically mentioned problems in dry goods as well as frozen meat products and breakfast type meals. “(Manufacturers) have remedied the toilet paper and paper towel situation but now it’s other things. It’s frustrating.”
Reed also used the word “frustrating.” He said they can get the staples but there are gaps in other areas such as cereal, cookies, crackers and soups. “You pull in stuff you’ve never carried before to have something comparable,” he said.
At Gary’s, Pantenburg said close to 30 percent of his orders aren’t currently being filled. He mentioned dairy as one area that is hard to fill. Monday morning he indicated the cooler where a column of shelves were empty between others filled with jugs of milk.
“That’s all I got this morning,” he said. “There was no two percent (milk).” There was also no delivery of fresh chicken. Pantenburg described the receiving ordered items as “very, very hit and miss.”
In Litchfield at the P & D Market, manager Peggy Lewandowski said it’s an on-going situation. “It’s tough. You place an order and you’re lucky to get half of it,” she said. “Lunchables took a while, but now they’re OK. Some deli meats and sliced meats are hard to get.”
She said she includes a disclaimer on her flyers that states sales are limited to availability. Customers are rolling with the changes, saying, “They understand.”
Jessi Mason, who became the new owner of The Market in Anselmo in December, said they are definitely short on a lot of items. “It’s pretty random,” she said.
Despite the gaps, there’s no reason to panic. While a customer may not be able to find a specific brand or item, there is food on the shelves. The grocery store staff can help a customer find a substitute.
“We might not be able to find your Kellogg brand, but we might be able to find an Our Family brand,” Pantenburg said.
Davis in Sargent said, even with empty spaces, shelves are far from empty. “There are plenty of things,” he said. “I just hate seeing empty shelves.”
Paulsen spends more time ordering and many products don’t arrive but he looks at it philosophically, saying, “We’re not starving right now.”
Fowler acknowledged that customers are getting used to seeing open spaces. Still, it’s not what the managers want.
“We want items to be on the shelves for the customers,” Fowler said. “In a perfect world, we would see full, awesome shelves.”
While lack of paper plates or a specific pet food may be a temporary inconvenience, Fowler acknowledged there could be serious concerns if health products or dietary health products come up short. He doesn’t want to see open spaces on those shelves. “We want it all on the shelves,” he said.
As to why there is a shortage of some items some suppliers haven’t given specific reasons. Educated guesses include manufacturing issues, packaging issues (such as metal supplies), health issues and Omicron fear. “It’s probably primarily labor shortage,” Pantenburg said.
Reed said shortages may be around for the time being. “It’s probably the norm for a while, if you can’t get the workers,” he said.
Davis said some manufacturers have had to make decisions on what to produce in the midst of a labor shortage. “They may make ten products but may stick to five right now because that’s what they have the manpower to make,” he said.
Lewandowski also mentioned decisions made by manufacturers saying, “A lot of things they quit making and now they can’t catch up,” she said.
Mason said she has been told some of the shortages have to do with warehouse staffing. “The warehouses might be full but they don’t have the workers to pull items,” she said.
As to when the shortages will end, there’s also no answer to that. “I’m hoping it’s short term,” Paulsen said. “The supplier keeps saying product is coming soon.”
“It’s not getting any worse,” Davis said. “But it’s sure not getting any better. I think until we get through the pandemic, we won’t see a lot of change.”
One good thing that current shortages may be doing is raising awareness of the complexity of the supply chain. Patenburg said some people may have no idea of what’s needed to keep things moving.
“It takes a chain of quite a few humans to get the products on the shelves,” he said.