Stocking the Pantry
Just like everyone else in the country right now, we are having difficulty stocking our pantry and keeping it stocked. This, of course, is what people would refer to as a "first world problem" and they would be correct. This is just one reason (of many) why I say that the United States is no longer a first world country. Supermarket supply chains have broken down. Many critically necessary supply chains have broken down.
Sheila and I realized in recent weeks that getting simple things like meat is difficult so we need to place orders of only meat that range from $200 to $300... and that is just for two of us! I don't know how families with children in the household are managing.
When it comes to purchasing meat, we can't seem to get much from Shaw's using InstaCart (I should point out that there is nothing 'instant' about InstaCart either... it requires up to five days to get an order). Schwann's has a two week wait for delivery. And, Omaha Steaks has a three week wait. Since we have to wait up to three weeks, we need to order between $200 and $300 of meat at a time and even that is barely enough meat that requires us to plan, ration and supplement with canned goods when we can get those.
Just normal grocery shopping... something that, until the past three months, we would normally do every evening or every other evening (my diet due to my primary illness demands fresh foods)... we now only do once a week through InstaCart. So, now we need to purchase enough products to last for at least a week rather than just one day which means we are purchasing far more than we normally would purchase at a time. This is not hoarding. This is simply buying in bulk because many of the shelves are often bare when our InstaCart shopper is in the store and, more importantly, because we are now only shopping a fraction of the amount of times we normally would shop. Encountering bare shelves only compounds this problem.
I have a quick comment about the illusion of the masses hoarding supplies. Do I believe that a small percentage of people have hoarded some supplies? Absolutely. Do I think that this percentage of people is rather small having little impact on supplies? Absolutely. I believe the problem lies in the ability of our supermarket supply chains to meet a demand that demands everyone purchase enough goods to last one to two weeks. I know that if everyone in my neighborhood went to our local Shaw's and purchased just one week of supplies, the store shelves would be completely bare within hours. The store simply is not large enough to support a neighborhood of 6,000 purchasing a week or two of groceries at a time.
This is a failure in our supply chains just like every other third world country experiences during a crisis. I never thought I would see the day when bread shelves, paper product shelves, meat coolers, fresh produce shelves, frozen vegetables freezers, frozen fruit freezers, etc, were empty. This is a third world issue and something that should never be seen in a first world country. Simply put, people are buying more products because they can now only shop once a week or once every two weeks and our supply chain cannot handle this adapted consumer purchasing schedule. What is more frightening is that the supply chain seems to be unable to adapt to this crisis.
For instance, I know what it is like to live in a city. If you live in a large city, chances are that you have no car. Public transportation is the way to get around because there is no room for everyone to have a car. Since there is no room for parking cars, owning a car in a large city is ridiculously expensive and logistically problematic. So, what do these people do in order to keep their pantry stocked? They stop at the local market right down the block from their home when they are on their way home from work every night. They have to walk so they only would buy enough that they could carry comfortably. Well, you can't do that if you are minimizing your exposure to the public. Now you need to purchase in bulk once a week or once every two weeks. Clearly our third world supply chains cannot handle this level of purchasing and they are unable to effectively adapt.
The vast majority of people are not hoarding. Yes, a few are... and, at this point, who can blame them considering the problems we are seeing in keeping a normal home pantry stocked for each household. At this point, I know that if I could get my hands on toilet paper and tissues, I would purchase a six month supply! This is a supply problem. It is not a hoarding problem. Our supply chain is not set up for everyone to purchase only once a week or once every two weeks. Clearly, adjusting supply chains to a crisis such as this one is something this ex-first world country is incapable of doing effectively.
This little rant of sorts all started because we (Sheila and I as well as many of our friends) are having great difficulty finding meat, toilet paper, tissues, frozen foods, fresh produce, bread, even canned goods, etc. Throughout my career, I've seen many crises in third world countries. One thing I have always been thankful for is that our first world country was able to provide food and supplies during any crisis. I've seen what it means when food supplies can't keep up with demand. I've seen what inevitably happens when food supplies can't keep up with demand. One of the advantages of paying the price for living in a first world country is to never experience a problem such as this because this, unfortunately, is a sign of deeper problems as well as longer term impending problems. The United States has now proven it is no longer a first world country and the United States has no business referring to itself as a first world country nevermind a "world leader". I am quite certain (my contacts around the world tell me so) that the United States is now a big joke to the international community.
There are still many dedicated and highly skilled people working within our federal government but their hands have been tied by our bumbling fool of a President. This bumbling fool's administration seems to be hellbent on only tying the hands of the people who can easily resolve these third world problems. The fact is, and for many reasons beyond what has been mentioned in this blog entry, the United States government has inexcusably and negligently failed its people and has set our country back by over a hundred years.
As a retired military service member who spent a career protecting our own borders while consistently helping third world countries in their dire times of need, I can honestly say that, up until now, I always felt I would never see the day when our food supply chains would fail us at home. Empty shelves in stores just briefly... very rarely for a day or two... is nothing that concerns me. Empty shelves in stores for weeks and months... this brings a tear to my eye because it is a sign of much bigger and troubling problems that I have seen tear a country apart. I've seen it happen far too many times. It is not about the food though. The food is a symptom and a catalyst for far larger problems to develop. The lack of food is a sign of a frightening likelihood that these more troubling problems are about to explode to the surface in very ugly ways.
In the meantime, I just shake my head in disgust and, honestly, a little bit of fear, every time I see that we cannot easily stock our pantry... for at least two months now...
Sheila and I realized in recent weeks that getting simple things like meat is difficult so we need to place orders of only meat that range from $200 to $300... and that is just for two of us! I don't know how families with children in the household are managing.
When it comes to purchasing meat, we can't seem to get much from Shaw's using InstaCart (I should point out that there is nothing 'instant' about InstaCart either... it requires up to five days to get an order). Schwann's has a two week wait for delivery. And, Omaha Steaks has a three week wait. Since we have to wait up to three weeks, we need to order between $200 and $300 of meat at a time and even that is barely enough meat that requires us to plan, ration and supplement with canned goods when we can get those.
Just normal grocery shopping... something that, until the past three months, we would normally do every evening or every other evening (my diet due to my primary illness demands fresh foods)... we now only do once a week through InstaCart. So, now we need to purchase enough products to last for at least a week rather than just one day which means we are purchasing far more than we normally would purchase at a time. This is not hoarding. This is simply buying in bulk because many of the shelves are often bare when our InstaCart shopper is in the store and, more importantly, because we are now only shopping a fraction of the amount of times we normally would shop. Encountering bare shelves only compounds this problem.
I have a quick comment about the illusion of the masses hoarding supplies. Do I believe that a small percentage of people have hoarded some supplies? Absolutely. Do I think that this percentage of people is rather small having little impact on supplies? Absolutely. I believe the problem lies in the ability of our supermarket supply chains to meet a demand that demands everyone purchase enough goods to last one to two weeks. I know that if everyone in my neighborhood went to our local Shaw's and purchased just one week of supplies, the store shelves would be completely bare within hours. The store simply is not large enough to support a neighborhood of 6,000 purchasing a week or two of groceries at a time.
This is a failure in our supply chains just like every other third world country experiences during a crisis. I never thought I would see the day when bread shelves, paper product shelves, meat coolers, fresh produce shelves, frozen vegetables freezers, frozen fruit freezers, etc, were empty. This is a third world issue and something that should never be seen in a first world country. Simply put, people are buying more products because they can now only shop once a week or once every two weeks and our supply chain cannot handle this adapted consumer purchasing schedule. What is more frightening is that the supply chain seems to be unable to adapt to this crisis.
For instance, I know what it is like to live in a city. If you live in a large city, chances are that you have no car. Public transportation is the way to get around because there is no room for everyone to have a car. Since there is no room for parking cars, owning a car in a large city is ridiculously expensive and logistically problematic. So, what do these people do in order to keep their pantry stocked? They stop at the local market right down the block from their home when they are on their way home from work every night. They have to walk so they only would buy enough that they could carry comfortably. Well, you can't do that if you are minimizing your exposure to the public. Now you need to purchase in bulk once a week or once every two weeks. Clearly our third world supply chains cannot handle this level of purchasing and they are unable to effectively adapt.
The vast majority of people are not hoarding. Yes, a few are... and, at this point, who can blame them considering the problems we are seeing in keeping a normal home pantry stocked for each household. At this point, I know that if I could get my hands on toilet paper and tissues, I would purchase a six month supply! This is a supply problem. It is not a hoarding problem. Our supply chain is not set up for everyone to purchase only once a week or once every two weeks. Clearly, adjusting supply chains to a crisis such as this one is something this ex-first world country is incapable of doing effectively.
This little rant of sorts all started because we (Sheila and I as well as many of our friends) are having great difficulty finding meat, toilet paper, tissues, frozen foods, fresh produce, bread, even canned goods, etc. Throughout my career, I've seen many crises in third world countries. One thing I have always been thankful for is that our first world country was able to provide food and supplies during any crisis. I've seen what it means when food supplies can't keep up with demand. I've seen what inevitably happens when food supplies can't keep up with demand. One of the advantages of paying the price for living in a first world country is to never experience a problem such as this because this, unfortunately, is a sign of deeper problems as well as longer term impending problems. The United States has now proven it is no longer a first world country and the United States has no business referring to itself as a first world country nevermind a "world leader". I am quite certain (my contacts around the world tell me so) that the United States is now a big joke to the international community.
There are still many dedicated and highly skilled people working within our federal government but their hands have been tied by our bumbling fool of a President. This bumbling fool's administration seems to be hellbent on only tying the hands of the people who can easily resolve these third world problems. The fact is, and for many reasons beyond what has been mentioned in this blog entry, the United States government has inexcusably and negligently failed its people and has set our country back by over a hundred years.
As a retired military service member who spent a career protecting our own borders while consistently helping third world countries in their dire times of need, I can honestly say that, up until now, I always felt I would never see the day when our food supply chains would fail us at home. Empty shelves in stores just briefly... very rarely for a day or two... is nothing that concerns me. Empty shelves in stores for weeks and months... this brings a tear to my eye because it is a sign of much bigger and troubling problems that I have seen tear a country apart. I've seen it happen far too many times. It is not about the food though. The food is a symptom and a catalyst for far larger problems to develop. The lack of food is a sign of a frightening likelihood that these more troubling problems are about to explode to the surface in very ugly ways.
In the meantime, I just shake my head in disgust and, honestly, a little bit of fear, every time I see that we cannot easily stock our pantry... for at least two months now...
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